How often do you spend time with women who aren’t in your current life stage? Whether you’re navigating a demanding semester of school, learning how to be a mother, juggling work challenges, or caring for an aging parent, it’s normal to gravitate toward women in the same season. But when we only reach out to those like us, we risk missing the beauty of God’s design—how older and younger women in the church uniquely encourage, exhort, and strengthen one another.

In her recent article, Gina L. Smith reminds us that “in every season of life, Christians have an important calling and can contribute to the local church.” No matter our age or stage, we’re invited into meaningful, purposeful work—commending God’s faithfulness to the next generation and serving his people with what we’ve been given. While our stage of life can affect how we contribute to our church, we’re never too young or too old to reap the benefits and joy of belonging and serving together.