Introduction

John piper has written about the tumult he faced at midlife, a season that lasted several years and was most acutely confusing and difficult his forty first year. John Piper captures midlife as a critical stage in life when physical changes, merital stresses, children's challenges, vocational aspirations and the burdens of success or failure create the conditions melt down. This perilous confluence of forces leads to a shuddering reassessment of life and the desire to be somewhere else. One definition of mid life crisis centers on a man's growing awareness of his finitude and his failures.