MY WEEKLY LETTER OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Dear Friends:
I recently revisited the story of actress Rachel Ward, who received criticism for looking older. What stayed with me was not the criticism itself, but the way she responded. Rather than treating her age as something to apologize for, she spoke about the fulfillment she has found in this season of life.
Her response brought me back to a question I have asked so often: When did aging become wrong?
Somewhere along the way, many of us absorbed the message that every gray hair needs covering, every wrinkle needs correcting, and every visible sign of age is a problem to solve. There is always another product, another procedure, another expert promising to help us hold on to youth. That is what I call the Beauty Loop.
Now, I enjoy makeup and pretty things. I have spent much of my life appreciating outward beauty! But I never want those things to convince us that our worth diminishes as our appearance changes.
“But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” — 1 Peter 3:4 (KJV)
God does not measure our beauty by the standards of a changing culture. He sees the heart. The qualities He calls precious do not expire when we turn 50, 60, 70, or beyond. In fact, the passing years can become an opportunity for patience, kindness, wisdom, and grace to deepen.
I think of the story my husband once told me about a woman in her nineties. He said she was not outwardly beautiful by the world’s standards, yet she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. What was it that he saw? Something that could not be purchased in a jar.
So if the mirror looks different these days, may I encourage you with these words: You matter more. Not because aging automatically makes us wiser or kinder, but because our worth was never determined by looking young in the first place.
Perhaps this week, instead of asking, “How can I look younger?” we might ask, “What kind of beauty is growing in my heart?”
And then, with God’s help, let us tend to that beauty.
With love, Angela
UNFADING BEAUTY | See Beauty Differently
A question for your week: What has growing older taught you about what is truly beautiful?
Scripture to Hold Onto
A Brief Prayer
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the gift of growing older. Forgive us for the times we’ve allowed the world’s definition of beauty to influence how we see ourselves.
Help us to embrace each season of life with gratitude, remembering that our worth has never depended on youth or outward appearance. Teach us to cultivate the gentle, quiet beauty of a heart that is precious in Your sight. And as the years pass, may we become women whose lives reflect more of You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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