When I was in my 30’s and 40’s I held my head high and thought I’d age gracefully, in fact I would have bet on it.  As a personal trainer I worked with many women who struggled tirelessly with how they were aging, and I wholeheartedly encouraged them to shift their focus.  I assured them that the wrinkles they so desperately sought to remove, the inevitable flabby underarms they hoped to remedy, and their physical limitations didn’t really matter in the big picture.

They were so much more than all of that!

Then I turned 50…  and I was still feeling pretty good.  Sure, I began to see some changes as my normally oily skin got dryer, my hair got grayer and unruly, and my body began rebelling against intense workouts.  But for the most part I continued to feel confident and in control of my aging process.

I am now 54, and to be honest I’d say each year after 50 seemed to rob me of a little more control.  Control I mistakenly thought I had.  I now need glasses 100% of the time, my skin is sagging in places I hoped it never would, and the wrinkles I see when I look in the mirror are multiplying.  Oh yes, and the magnifying mirror is now a critical part of my beauty routine, as I simply cannot see a thing in a regular mirror anymore. 

Can we talk about that magnifying mirror, it’s terrifying isn’t it?  I need it desperately to see what I’m doing each morning, but it shows more than I bargained for.  Every line, spot, bump, and hair glares back at me as if to say, “Yep, there you are – old and tired, let’s see what you can do with all of this…”

Staring into that magnifying mirror is what prompted me to write this today.  Believe it or not, I’ve had many God moments looking in that mirror.  In fact, I meet Him there often these days.  I meet Him when I grumble about losing hair on my eyebrows or finding hair in places it simply should never be… I meet Him when I discover new dark spots and wrinkles, stare at the bags under my eyes, and attempt to train my wire-like grey hairs.  Inside I feel His presence reminding me that I am, in fact, more than the changes I wrestle with in the mirror.  In my weakness, the spirit in me speaks and encourages me as I once did with my clients. 

Perhaps I should step back a bit and give you some context.  Years ago, I began encouraging clients to step away from daily weighing-ins as part of their training.  One of the challenges I gave them was to choose a Bible verse and tape it on the face of the scale to cover the numbers.

I joined in the challenge myself and chose – Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  This verse remained on my scale for months and served me well in reminding me of God’s truth regarding my body weight.

It wasn’t far after that I noticed how much I was grumbling in front of my makeup mirror.  I decided to move the scripture to my mirror.  And there it was, a daily reminder that my Heavenly Father made me, and His works are wonderful.  Any grumbling on my part was a direct insult to Him.  I was humbled, and although I still struggled with what I saw happening in the mirror, the truth of that verse was soon engrained in my mind and it wasn’t long before I was able to shift my focus to praise and gratitude. 

Side note, I have found that playing uplifting music while getting ready is a great way to take the focus off myself and put it where it belongs. I have an extensive worship playlist you are welcome to follow on Spotify – click here, it’s free.

Let’s talk about control for a moment.  You may have noticed it as the bigger issue here.  I honestly thought I was in control my aging process.  When I was younger, I would see beautiful, strong, and confident older women and I knew I was going to do everything in my power to be like them.

Everything in my power.

Maybe you too have struggled to stay on a healthy path in your own power, or maybe you’re exhausted from fighting to stick with it.  The truth is, much of life is beyond our control and sometimes doing everything in our power simply isn’t enough. Life is imperfect and messy, even for the Type A – control freaks out there like me. There’s sickness and injuries, stress and all sorts of life events that can take us off the path we hoped to go.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe taking care of our bodies by eating well, exercising, and rest gives us our best shot at aging well.  But what happens when our power goes out?  What happens when the curve balls of life derail us from doing all the things we know to do in our control?

I’ve poked fun at aging here today, and maybe you’ve enjoyed a giggle or two on my behalf or because you too can relate on some level.  The struggle is real, control is not always in our hands, and our bodies are aging whether we like it or not.

But do not lose heart, my friend.  2 Corinthians 4:16 says:

“Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

It’s not about the fitness.

Said another way – it’s not about your body.  Or your skin, your hair, your arms, your strength, or the size jeans you wear.  Your life is about so much more.

The key, for me is in the second part of this verse – “inwardly, we are being renewed day by day.”

Are you being renewed?  Let’s face it friends, our bodies are wasting away.  We can’t control the fact that we will age, and then we will die.  (Yep, it’s true!)

BUT God wants to renew us inwardly on the journey; the inward renewing is what really matters!

I’ve often thought how ironic it is that we come into the world helpless and if we are lucky enough to live a long life, we go out pretty much the same way.  But I believe God set it up that way for a reason.  As we age, we inevitably lose control and our need draws us closer to our Heavenly Father, the one who has been pursuing us all our lives but perhaps we’ve been too busy being in control to notice.

If we lean into God as we move through the aging process and let Him renew us, we will gain wisdom and a deeper in understanding of His unshakeable grace and never-ending love for us and all of humanity.

So yes, today I can say I am aging well because the process, however challenging, is drawing me closer to the heart of God.  I hope and pray that is true for you as well.  If it isn’t, maybe I’ve given you something to think about today.  Maybe this is the day you begin to shift your focus from what you see in the mirror to ponder your inward renewal.

Let’s be women who age well.  Who walk into a room and feel confident in who we are and Who’s we are.  Women who glow with gratitude, peace, and joy. Let every wrinkle, dark spot, and grey hair represent our inward renewal as we keep our eyes on the One who made us and smile back at the reflection we see in the magnifying mirror.