Who Told You You're Dried Up?

We live in an anti-aging world. One scroll through Instagram spews reel after reel to buy this wrinkle eraser cream and hide your menopause pooch and finally—a bra that keeps the girls from sagging and spreading.

Joy. Now I’m worried about sagging boobs when I just logged on to watch a few puppy videos.

But social media isn’t the only culprit. Messages relegating mature women to the sidelines are everywhere.

Hollywood casts 20-somethings in starring roles while veteran actresses land L’Oreal commercials (ironically because they still don’t look their age). For every capable woman promoted to leadership in midlife, two more leave the workplace because it can’t support her sandwich-gen stress. Even our own churches are bypassing older leaders for hipsters who film better on stage.

It’s not right, yet it’s also not surprising. The Bible warns us, “What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted” (Ecclesiastes 1:15). Human effort can’t fix what human vanity broke.

Yet a wise woman knows a lie when she sees one. She doesn’t “conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). So today I want to remind us all, seasoned daughters of the King, that God doesn’t view aging the way our society views aging.

And we get to choose which side to believe.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree… They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’” (Psalm 92:12a, 14-15)

God doesn’t cast aside women in their 40s, 50s and beyond. Some of us are just getting started.

We’ve been in training for decades and didn’t even know it—raising our kids, paying our dues, collecting enough hard knocks to break through the ceiling of time and roles, finally discovering what’s next for us—not just as moms and wives and household managers, but as “God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

So sister, don’t let anybody tell you you’re dried up. You’re not too old to make a difference, to start fresh, and to flourish into your most fruitful season yet. You don’t need more wrinkle cream. You need more truth.

You’re right on time. Meno pooch and all.