The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By Chris Hammond, IMH, MS Spend some time in a nursing home and you will come across two very general types of elderly people: ones who are still happy and others who are still miserable.   If you listen to their stories, both sets have had their fair share of life tragedies, health problems, loss of loved ones, wars, disappointments, and successes.   Yet one group walks away with a sense of having lived life well despite all of the tragedies and the other with regret despite any successes.   How can this be? Erik Erikson defines the last of his eight psychosocial development stage as Integrity vs. Despair which begins around age sixty-five till death.   The outcome of the previous seven stages sets the standard for this last stage in life as a person who has progressed well in previous stages will most likely end well.   When a person ages, their ability to moderate thoughts, feelings and emotions diminishes so good habits that were formed earlier te...

Sometimes our lives fall apart or at least they seem to be falling apart and at these times we realize how little control we have in fact over our circumstances. One day life can look great and we can feel in control and on top of the world and the next day we are miserably aware that we have no control at all. Seasons of perplexity and trials are part of the Christian life and used by God to help us grow spiritually. The key is often in our ability to discern meaning and purpose in painful life events. God often permits suffering because it is a great tool for spiritual transformation. My favorite biblical example of this is Joseph who experienced 13 years of misery that began with his own brothers wanting to kill him over their jealousy and ended in slavery and prison. All the great and faithful characters in scripture have endured great suffering; most noteworthy is Christ himself. But as we read and study their lives and experiences it is plain to see that God always kept His ...