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Beyond the
Bend Column
Welcome to your
first issue of Beyond the Bend! This website is designed for
women who are approaching the 2nd half of their life and
those who are in the midst of it. There is so much we can
learn from each other and I hope this website can be tool to help
each reader become all that God designed them to be.
I’d like to begin this eNews by telling you a little about myself.
My name is Patti Chadwick and I’m 44 years old. I’ve been a
WAHM (work-at-home) mom for 21 years and have loved every minute of
it….well, almost! I’ve been married to John for 17 years and
my children are nearly grown; Jonathan is 25, TJ is 22, Jenilee is
21, and David is 18. If you’ve done the math, you will see
that I have a blended family, and that “blending” hasn’t come
without a price. I’ve spent the last 22 years raising my
family, running a home business, and pursuing my education.
While I had a variety of interests over the past 22 years, my time
was mostly spent raising my family. As my children entered
their teen years and began graduating from high school, I began to
see the light at the end of the tunnel of parenting. I began to ask
myself such questions as What would I like to see myself doing when my
kids are out of the house? What is God’s plan for me for the 2nd
half of my life? How do I need to prepare so I will be ready?
Though my mothering “gig” wasn’t over, I wanted to make sure I was
ready and well prepared when I felt the time was right to refocus my
life. I’ve been on a quest for purpose ever since, wondering
what life will hold for me when my nest is empty.
I’ve read books on finding your life purpose,
discovering your dreams, and listening to God’s voice – feel free to
email me for a list of great books on the topic! I now see my life
evolving into something wonderfully exciting!
Part of the vision for my 2nd half
of life involves helping women get a vision for their lives and
encouraging them to become all God intended them to be. I have a
passion for helping women see the “possibilities” in their lives and
fulfilling their dreams. Six years ago I began a website called
History’s Women where I profile the lives of women from history that
made a difference in their worlds. With Beyond the Bend, I want to
make it more personal and encourage each of my readers to live their
lives to the fullest.
You may wonder where I cam up with the name
Beyond the Bend. The idea for this website has evolved over the
past few years. As I talked with women about the issues that
arise during mid-life, I saw there was a great need for a website
that gathers items of interest for women in this phase of life. I
had the concept, but I needed a name. As I thought and prayed about
it, a radio series I’d heard several years ago popped into my mind.
It was “A Bend in the Road” by David Jeremiah. The series was
about turning points in life and how the way that we deal with them
affects the rest of our life. The next thing I thought of was a
song from the Disney movie Pocahontas, “Just Around the River
Bend”, which fills you with excitement as you consider the
possibilities that lie just out of sight in uncharted waters, around
the river bend. I view mid-life as a bend in the road of life. We
see it coming before we reach it and we wonder (and sometimes
stress) about what lies just beyond that bend. We can’t see what is
beyond the bend and don’t know what those years will hold. It can
be scary and exciting at the same time. With this realization, I
thought that Beyond the Bend was the perfect name for this
new website.
I hope you all enjoy this first issue and
suggest that you keep checking back to the website for new articles
of interest. This site will be “evolving” over the next year and a
lot will depend on how much you, the readers, are willing to share.
I encourage you to submit articles for one of the several
categories, or stories of women who made a difference in this phase
of life. I know you ladies have so much knowledge and life
experience and I think it would be wonderful if you will share your
journey with us!
It’s my hope that the Beyond the Bend
website will help encourage women as they reach their own “bend in
the road” and turn the corner on a new adventure in their own lives.
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