Time for Some Respect

It’s time for some respect for our bodies as women of a certain age.

The next time you look in the mirror and mourn the changes you see, stop. Really.

I am 45. This body has carried me through all these years by God’s grace.

If I am not as thin as I once was, there’s a good reason for that. This body has given life to four other human beings. It deserves respect, not scorn.

These hands have cared for and nurtured all four of those babies and two more children God gave me from mothers who could not do so. If those hands look like they’re a little worn, they’ve been busy, you see?

If my feet are tired and sore these days and have some callouses, it’s because I’ve been running, for years, taking care of the people I love.

Those laugh lines emerging are proof that along with the tears in this life, God has given joy as well. I don’t intend to erase the evidence.

I don’t care what Hollywood freaks are doing to themselves surgically or chemically to try to retain whatever looks they have. It’s a losing battle in the end.

Youth is a wonderful thing, but the young haven’t lived yet. There are important things they haven’t learned. In their dewy freshness the kids are lovely, but they haven’t been tried or tested. Their wisdom, such as they have, is all theory. They don’t know much yet. I wouldn’t go back.

So, no, I’m not joining in the great Sigh of Middle Age. I’m grateful to be here, and I am grateful each morning for the strength to get out of bed and carry out my responsibilities. This time in our lives was intended by God to be more than one long lament for what is past. We can continue to be fruitful in our lives to His glory.

We can model gracious acceptance of whatever age we are. Our daughters need to see that life as a female is not just one long struggle to retain faded youth. They need to know that our bodies change throughout our lives, and that working within that with dignity and thankfulness is the only right and healthy response.

Thank you, Heavenly Father,
for every breath you give,
for every heartbeat you grant.
Help me to remember that while my body ages,
I am renewed inside, day by day,
As I walk with You.
Amen