About

Helping Empty Nesters Rediscover Purpose After the Kids Leave Home

Rediscover. Reignite. Realign.

Connect Home Life is a faith-centered mentoring community created specifically for empty nesters navigating the emotional and spiritual shift of the empty nest season. We help men and women move forward with clarity, strengthen their faith, and rediscover purpose after the kids leave home.

 Jo and Beecher Wilhelm are the heart behind Connect Home Life. They have been married for over 40 years and understand how this midlife transition reshapes daily rhythms, marriage, relationships, identity, and spiritual direction.

 Together, they have walked through seasons of joy and hardship—raising two children who are now married, navigating infertility and adoption, facing health challenges, career shifts, depression, and job loss. These experiences did not weaken their faith. They refined it.

 For years, Jo and Beecher have served as small-group leaders, guiding others in practical Biblical application, spiritual growth, and authentic Christian community. They continue to grow alongside the very people they serve.

 Jo's Story

Jo Wilhelm, founder of Connect Home Life and retired wealth management professional, understands the bittersweet mix of grief and freedom that follows life after raising children.

 After stepping away from her financial career due to health challenges, she devoted herself fully to family life. When her children moved out, and the house grew quiet, she faced the identity shift many empty nest moms experience:

•  Who am I beyond parenting?

• What is my purpose in this next season?

• How do I realign my daily life with God's direction?

Her children later married and built lives of their own, but the transition began long before wedding celebrations. The empty nest season arrived in stages — and with it came both gratitude and grief.

Parenting roles shifted. Marriage rhythms adjusted. Faith deepened in unexpected ways.

Today, Jo equips Christian empty nesters with faith-based digital resources, Biblical encouragement, and personal mentoring designed to help them rediscover identity, reignite passion, and realign their lives with God's calling.

Her work centers on helping empty nesters rediscover purpose after the kids leave home — not by starting over, but by stepping forward with intention. Throughout Connect Home Life, Jo shares practical encouragement and honest reflections from her own empty nest journey to help others navigate this season with faith and confidence.

 Beecher's Heart

Beecher Wilhelm, a retired credit manager with an MBA from Syracuse University, brings steady leadership, financial wisdom, and a shepherd's heart to Connect Home Life.

 A longtime Christian small group leader and guest writer, Beecher openly describes himself as "a recovering imposter, sinner saved by grace." His faith journey is rooted in humility, not perfection.

 Beecher knows that Jesus uses the unqualified to reach the overlooked. So he opens the door, makes space for the unheard and unsure, and trusts that when we show up with compassion, He does the rest. If you've ever felt unseen or unworthy, you're exactly who he’s here for.

 He has a deep passion for encouraging others in their faith and for helping empty-nest couples navigate this next chapter with unity and purpose. He is the steady presence — the 3 a.m. friend — who listens without judgment and leads with gratitude.

 Our Approach

 The empty nest season is not a winding down. It is a refining.

 At Connect Home Life, we provide Christian empty nesters with 5 ways to help you:

•  Faith-based mentoring for midlife identity shifts

• Biblical encouragement for life after parenting

• Tools to strengthen marriage after the kids leave home

• Christ-centered community gatherings

• Practical resources to help you rediscover purpose

If you are navigating the empty nest, adjusting to retirement, reevaluating your identity, or asking what God has next, you are not alone.

Here you will find steady Biblical truth, meaningful conversation, and a Christian community committed to helping you rediscover purpose after the kids leave home.

If you are ready to move forward with clarity, deepen your faith, and realign your life with God's direction in midlife, start with the Purpose Reset Guide and take your first intentional step forward.

If you have ever felt unseen, uncertain, or unsure of your place in this next chapter, there is room for you here.

 Rediscover. Reignite. Realign.

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