LIFE WITH MEANING IS SEMINAR TOPIC

Susan Nash is not a psychologist or sociologist. When she discusses "The Stages of a Woman's Life" in a seminar this weekend, she'll be talking about "how to live life with meaning and purpose despite unexpected interruptions and changes."

From her home in Memphis, Nash called her topic "the meat and potatoes of living."

The chairman of the Permanent Committee on Women's Ministries for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in America, Nash will lead the seminar Friday and Saturday at Christ Presbyterian Church, 400 S. Kingshighway.

Her message is that "We have to understand where we've come from and where we're going in order to get satisfaction from our lives."

The satisfactions derived from relationships, families, jobs and accomplishments, while worthwhile, ultimately are never enough, Nash said.

"We can never ultimately be satisfied on this Earth. Ultimately, only (God) can satisfy us."

The trick is maintaining a relationship with the invisible while caught up in the world we can see and touch, Nash said.

"That ultimate satisfaction is available by knowing God, and I think that's possible."

And it is possible to find God in the seemingly ordinary things we do every day, she said.

"In some of those mundane things, I see eternal truths. The Bible sees Christ as the bread of life, so (by eating) we are nourishing ourselves every day."

Her seminar views life as a composition of changes and waiting, and teaches that "problems are temporary. One day they won't be here.

"You have to understand where the history of the world is headed," Nash said, "and that you are part of that history."

If that has an apocalyptic sound, Nash said the destination is not scary. "We are headed for a judgment day; for Christians it will be a day of joy and rejoicing."

Most of her audiences contain the same types of people," she said. "Some are divorced, widowed, or maybe they're looking after an older parent."

These people have experienced great changes in their lives, and more assuredly are on the way.

"We are constantly in a state of change or flux," Nash said.

The flip side is the waiting for marriage, for children, perhaps for the death of a loved one. Changing our attitudes toward these periods can enrich our lives as well, she said.

"Sometimes God is teaching us things through waiting mainly that we are dependent on him."

These life changes do not affect women more than men, Nash said. The seminar is for women simply because "women are more willing to reveal themselves, especially about emotional or heart issues."

She accepts that as "a broad generalization," and says women "are a little bit more prone to be drawn to spiritual things."

A graduate of the Reformed Theological Seminary with a master's degree in Christian education, Nash is the director of Women's Ministries for the 3,800-member Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis.

More than 2,200 of those members are women, a predominance Nash says is common in most American churches.

Nash said menopause, the subject of two current best-selling books, will be addressed during the seminar, if not head-on. "People are willing to talk about that more ... It's one of those changes."

An offering will be accepted during the seminar, which will run from 7-9 p.m. Friday and from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday. Registration will be accepted through Thursday. For information, phone Mary Meier at 334-4509 or Miki Gudermuth at 334-1959.