77: Aging Gracefully

Aging shows up in tiny ways before it ever shows up in big ones: the font gets bigger, workouts need more recovery, sleep can still leave you sore, and the mirror starts telling the truth louder than it used to. While I’m walking through a beauty study with my daughter during our monthly discipleship tea time, I realize the conversation isn’t just for her. It’s for me too, right here at forty, learning how to live with gratitude for the privilege of growing older while still wanting to age gracefully.

We talk about the difference between vanity and stewardship, and why our culture keeps pushing women toward extremes. One path says to resist aging at any cost. The other can look like spiritualized indifference toward caring for ourselves. I share the “third way” Scripture points us to: a heart anchored in Jesus and a body cared for with intention, because both are gifts from God. Along the way we sit with Psalm 139, 1 Peter 3, and 1 Corinthians 6, and we name what “beauty that doesn’t fade” can look like in real life when you’re loud, busy, and still growing in maturity.

We also get practical, because Christian wellness is not about perfection. It’s about rhythms that support longevity so we can stay faithful to our calling: rest, nourishment, movement, personal presentation, and time with the Lord. I also share why aging gracefully becomes generational, and how the words we say about our bodies can shape what our daughters believe about their own beauty and worth.

If you’ve felt tension between caring too much and not caring at all, this is your invitation to a steadier, kinder, more biblical way forward. Subscribe for more faith-filled discipleship conversations, share this with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review so more women can find it.

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Transcript

Beauty Study And Turning Forty

Leanne Tuggle 0:50

My daughter and I are going through a study on beauty as a part of our monthly discipleship tea time. Since feeling lovely and treasured is such an important part of being a girl, especially a preteen girl, I figured that this would be an excellent topic for us to explore together. What I didn't realize is how impactful it would be for me as well. I celebrated my 40th birthday last year, and every day since then, I am reminded that I am simply not as young as I used to be. I find myself needing to make the font bigger on documents that I am working on. I need more recovery days in between intense workouts, and I definitely can't eat as many sweets as I once did, otherwise, my clothes won't fit very well. And even if I get a solid eight hours of sleep, I find that it is possible to do this wrong and end up with a kink in your neck. Oh, the joys of getting older, right? And yet, I have to say that I am thankful for the privilege of aging, to be able to watch my children grow up. I've even actually started teasing my children about all the grandbabies that I hope that they give me someday, even though they still all have a lot of time before any of that happens. But what a gift it is to age, to get older, to have more wrinkles and gray hair as evidence of the years of wisdom that I have gleaned through lessons and circumstances that the Lord has walked me through. I am discovering that I do want to age, but I also want to age gracefully. Just before my 40th birthday last year, I felt the Lord telling me to be a good steward of the things that He has given me. Now, at the time I took this to mean that I shouldn't pile on more things to my plate, but instead I should embrace excellence in the few things that God had given me and to do those things really well. And while I still think that this is true, I am also beginning to understand that being a good steward can also be related to my body. In other words, I want to be a good steward of my heart and my body so that I can be a woman on mission for the Lord for as long as possible. Being a good steward of my heart means prioritizing time spent with the Lord. This helps me to guard my heart from things like burnout or comparison or jealousy. Being a good steward of your heart means that you say yes to the things that align with God's purposes and plans, and you say no to the things that aren't in his will for you in this season. Being a good steward of your heart means that your eyes are fixed on Jesus, like it says in Hebrews 12, 2. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Being a good steward of my heart also means living out Colossians 3, 17 every day. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. For some reason, it seems as though being a good steward of your heart is easier than being a good steward of your body. Why is that? Well, culturally, we have been taught to fear or resist aging, to see getting older as a curse instead of an opportunity. And as a result, women spend thousands of dollars to keep themselves young. You have things like Botox or plastic surgery, or even simpler things like a whole new wardrobe or skincare products. So there is this sort of extreme that we see playing out before us. But the pendulum can also swing the other way. You might see some women, perhaps even in Christian circles, refusing to give in to the vanity of any kind. And so they don't do anything to care for themselves. Well, is this all there is? Are those the only two options? Or could there be a way for aging to be something that we can steward instead of fight? Psalm 139 is one of the most famous passages of scripture when it comes to God's intimate design for us. And verse 14 says, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well. God created our bodies with intention. He made us in his image to be a reflection of his glory. And I think that this includes what's on the inside as well as what we see on the outside. The aging process is part of God's order and wisdom. I also think that true beauty does begin on the inside. 1 Peter 3, 3 through 4 talks about beauty that doesn't fade. And it says, Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the pulling on of gold jewelry or clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is God's, which in God's sight is very precious. Now I'll be honest with you. When I first read this passage of scripture, my heart sank because I am not someone who could be described as having a gentle and quiet spirit. I am loud and I talk a lot. Maybe that's why I have a podcast. And yet, as I've gotten older, I am realizing that a gentle and quiet spirit grows more radiant over time. I do find myself talking less and listening a little more. And I think this comes from maturity and from more time spent in the presence of God. The more time you spend at his feet, the quieter and gentler your soul becomes. But I also think it is important to note that these verses in 1 Peter 3 are not saying that you shouldn't care about your appearance at all. Caring for your body is good and necessary. 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20 says, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, so glorify God in your body. This means that things like nourishing your body well, caring for your skin and appearance with intention, or dressing with dignity and self-respect, embracing rest and rhythms that support longevity. All of these are part of being a good steward of the outer body God has given you. The world focuses on vanity, which is self-glorification. As believers, we can focus on stewardship, which is about God glorification. To age gracefully means to step deeper into your God-given purpose. And to do that, I believe that you need your heart and your body to be in tip-top shape. Or another way to think of it is that a woman of excellence continues to cultivate wisdom and beauty. This is how she can have a greater impact as a woman on mission for the Lord. So what does it look like to embrace excellence when it comes to aging in your current season? First Corinthians 4 16 puts it plainly. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. The truth is, is that no matter what you do, you cannot prevent the aging process. It is going to happen one way or another. You can, however, change your attitude towards aging. She is observing how I walk through each season of my life. And at the very least, I am motivated to model for her what it looks like to follow Christ over a lifetime, both on the inside and on the outside. In this sense, aging gracefully becomes generational. I want her to see me celebrating the different seasons of aging. I don't want her to hear me complain about my body or my looks, but instead to be thankful for what God is doing in and through me, both on the inside and on the outside. It is my hope that I can leave a legacy of aging gracefully for my daughter and for many generations to come. Aging gracefully isn't about holding on to your youth, it is about walking closely with God long enough that it shows. To close this episode, I wanted to give you a challenge for this week. Choose one of these five areas to steward well this week. Rest, nourishment, movement, personal presentation or your outer appearance, and time with the Lord. Check in with yourself and with the Lord at the end of the week and see if you notice any difference in both your heart and your body. Now something to ponder what would it look like to embrace excellence in how you steward your heart and your body this week. A scripture to savor.