What Sense of Meaning and Purpose Can Aging Single People Have Without a Family?

cross-posted from: https://exploding-heads.com/post/185121

There seem to be a growing number of unmarried people today who may have been brought up to view their purpose in life as being tied to having a family, and they may be getting too old to have kids (in the case of some unmarried women for example).

How can they find a sense of meaning in life without a family?

I have trouble wrapping my head around this, due to the understanding that a person could dedicate their life to God and live as a celibate as like a monk or priest or nun if they don't marry, and I feel pretty content with the idea of being married or single or in some religious commitment.

But this seems like it may be a growing problem for other people who do not share my outlook and I was wondering if people have ideas on how these people can cope with the issue.