As Barbara and I did research for this book we discovered many women who were taking the plunge into an unexpected Empty Nest Adventure, like our friend Debbie. Debbie turned fifty the year her youngest son graduated from high school. That same year her family moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. Debbie wisely took the first year off, getting to know her new community. But all along she wondered, What’s next for me?       

What have I loved? Where can I make a difference now? She asked herself. When her boys were in high school she worked as a guidance counselor and discovered she loved working with teens. In her new community, she came to know a number of adults who were concerned about the tremendous needs of youth in the area. Several had a desire to begin a Young Life ministry.

“I didn’t feel suited to be a leader. I’m not an extrovert. I don’t like speaking in front of people. I’m not funny. And all of these things are important for a Young Life leader. But I could pray,” Debbie recounts. 

Debbie took a risk and took thirteen sixth to eighth graders to a Young Life camp. During that week her life was changed and it wasn’t long before Debbie found herself, at age fifty-two, the area director of Young Life.

Debbie often reminds me, “When we pray and are available to God, He will use us. Sometimes it will be a big surprise, far out of our comfort zone. But when we step out in faith, He always comes through!”