Laughing at the Day to Come

The problem with being in your 20s is that you have a lot to say (and some of it is quite good) but you haven't earned the spiritual street cred for people to listen. Now in my 30s, I probably do have a few nuggets to share, but the imposter syndrome can be debilitating.

I expect that by my 40s, I'll have achieved the right seasoning.

We read that the woman in Proverbs 31, “laughs at the day to come.” which sounds like a beautiful way to live but is a lot harder to do on the day you find your first gray hair or while you are layering on night cream. Especially for women, aging can be…complicated. I want to age because it would mean that I have valuable insights to offer others. But I don’t really want to look like I’ve aged, especially when it feels like no one around me is doing it.

But time does take its toll and so does use. And when I’m tempted to be bummed about my own personal wear and tear, I go back to a nugget I gleaned from Rachel Jankovic in Loving the Little Years:

“Motherhood uses your body in the way that God designed it to be used. Those are the right kind of damages...motherhood is what your stomach was made for—and any wear and tear that it shows is simply the sign of a well-used tool. We are not to treat our bodies like museum pieces. They were not given to us to preserve, they were given to us to use. So use it cheerfully, and maintain it cheerfully.”

If our bodies were meant for a museum, we would take every pains necessary to restore them to their former glory. But if display is not their purpose, then we must look in the mirror differently. Sure, we may need scrape off a little rust, oil the gears, or tighten a few screws on this fleshy tool God has given us, but we wouldn’t view our diet or exercise as supreme if the goal isn’t bodily perfection.

Stretch marks may be left on my body, but my body isn't the only thing that stretched when I bore children. I see little buds of fruit from all the hard labor, even if the pruning shears have lost some of their shine.

Be thankful for the growth that has come with whatever use your body has given you. I think Shakespeare was on to something. Besides, this mom bod is made for cuddles.