There’s a line from that old song that plays in my head more often these days: ” …here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”
Middle. That’s where so many of us find ourselves…somewhere between carpool lines and college tours, between our teens’ independence and our parents’ growing dependence. It’s a strange tension, this middle season. One moment you’re coaching your son through ACT prep, and the next you’re helping your mom sort through medical appointments. You’re celebrating a child’s first taste of adulthood while trying to manage your own creeping awareness of time passing, and your back keeps reminding you that you are not 25 anymore.
Financially, it can feel just as tight. College tuition meets retirement planning somewhere in the middle of your bank account, and neither one wants to budge. You start to realize that “someday” planning isn’t theoretical anymore – it’s now. The juggling act between helping your kids launch well and preparing yourself (and maybe your parents) for what’s ahead can leave you feeling stretched, tired, and guilty that you can’t do it all perfectly.
But here’s the truth: you’re not meant to do it all. And you’re certainly not meant to do it alone.
In the middle, we learn to lean, to ask for help, and to accept that caring for others means caring for ourselves too because burnout doesn’t serve anyone. That might look like carving out time for a walk, scheduling your own doctor’s appointments instead of pushing them off, or saying no to one more obligation so you can actually rest.
Taking care of your aging self isn’t selfish; it’s stewardship. You’re modeling for your kids what it looks like to prioritize health, balance, and faithfulness in every season. You’re showing them that strength isn’t about holding everything together; it’s about holding on to what truly matters.
It can be a challenge to see how the pieces fit together: the parenting, the caretaking, the finances, the plans. Our role is to trust in the tension and rest in the truth that there is joy in every stage of life. We can find the treasures when we take a moment to recognize the connections and privilege it is to experience a full life.
So maybe being “stuck in the middle” isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe it’s the sacred space where we learn to depend more deeply on God, to laugh at life’s absurdities, and to discover a deeper joy in walking this middle road together – hand in hand with Him.
