Aging With Grace: Week Four

Join us for our Summer 2022
​Book Club-Style Bible Study

We are using the book Aging With Grace
​by Sharon W. Betters and Susan Hunt.

“Where we look determines what we worship, and what we worship determines what we become.” —Aging With Grace

How would you like to learn how to age with grace with us this summer, friend? I have done this study, and let me tell you, it is not just for older women! We are all aging, even if you're 18 years old, you're aging, and we all want to do it with grace, right? Join me here or eight weeks this summer on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 est beginning June 7 through July 26.

If you can't join us on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 est, join us when you can.
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Whatever season of life you’re in, God has equipped you to flourish—to live in the transforming power and beauty of His grace. As we age, we can easily lose sight of this message as cultural ideals glorifying youth take center stage.

In the book, Aging With Grace, Sharon W. Betters and Susan Hunt offer present-day and biblical examples of women who rediscovered Gospel-rooted joy in their lives. Equipped with a biblical view of aging, Aging with Grace will help you encounter afresh the Gospel that “is big enough, good enough, and powerful enough to make every season of life significant and glorious.”

Aging with Grace: Matriarchs of the Exile

“I think I have learned more of my dreadfully wicked heart, and the preciousness of Jesus during this trial than I ever learnt before.” —Mary Winslow

Maybe you could write your name beside that statement after a time of deep sorrow.

The loss of our first grandchild at the age of two weeks threw me into a two-year period of grieving that resulted in a greater understanding of God’s love and His ways, and yes, a greater understanding of my “dreadfully wicked heart.”

Though you or I could have easily written the above quote, it was penned by Mary Winslow in the 1800’s. Coming from Scotland to America with her 10 children, she looked forward to her husband joining her shortly, but tragically after her baby girl died, she found that her husband had passed away too. In time, she was able to overcome great disappointment and sorrow by trusting God and looking for those treasures He had for her in the darkness. Mary lived to be 80 years old and used that comfort God had given her to be a blessing to others as she wrote letters of encouragement and instruction.

One particular question she asked a widow is one we all need to consider: “How are you traveling heavenward?”

The title “Matriarchs of the Exile” reminds us of the Jewish exiles who were forced because of sin to leave the promised land and live in captivity in Babylon. But we also see ourselves in this title. One day we will be a Matriarch, if we aren’t one already. We will be among the oldest who set the example by leading well those in our realm of influence. Leading those who, like us, are exiles in a land that is not our own. We look “forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

Our sorrow is a reminder of our exiled status. We are living in a broken world, but it is just temporary. We can learn something from those Jewish Matriarch exiles. Let’s put ourselves in their sandals. Jeremiah 29:4-7 and verse 10 tell us their predicament:

• They were captured and taken from their homeland. 
• They were told by God, through Jeremiah, to build houses, live in them, and multiply.

“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7).

God would go on to promise them that in 70 years He would bring them back to their land.

The matriarchs were most likely willing to follow these instructions up until the “70-year” news. If you or I were in that group of exiles, we would understand how devastating that was. They would never again see the promised land. Their home. They would die before God ever delivered them. The older we become the harder it is to let go of what is familiar. These Matriarchs were no different than us. It was a huge loss for them. Something that could potentially throw them into a state of hopelessness.

But God. He is all about hope. He IS our Hope. Listen to what He told His people. These matriarchs included.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find me, when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

This left the exiles with three choices:

1. “Refuse to repent of idolatry, escape from Babylon, and go to Egypt, a place of godlessness.”
2. “Stay in Babylon but do not trust the promise. Grow bitter and rebellious toward God.”
3. “Trust God’s plan, repent of their idolatry, and in humility allow suffering to cleanse their hearts. Obey God and glorify Him in Babylon for the sake of the next generation.”

It would all come down to what was more important to them. Caring about the next generation or caring for themselves. Pleasing God, or pleasing self.

Just like these exiles, we have a choice. The older we get we begin to feel like we are being taken captive by our age. We are at the mercy of our health, aches, pains, and limitations. Maybe we feel helpless in being able to make a difference in the lives of those we love. What good are we anymore?

“We begin to believe our value is in what we do, rather than whose we are.” —Sharon Betters

The answer is to see ourselves as God sees us. We are His elect exiles. On this earth for a short time to show His glory, His love, His patience, and His truth to those around us. Thinking this way sets us free from our captivity and allows us to flourish where we have been put. God was not only telling the exiles this, but He is telling you and me this also, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

“When all seems lost, God keeps His promises and breathes life into what appears to be dead. When life crumbles around us and we wonder if God has lost control, we see Jesus (Hebrews 2:9) the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise.” —Sharon Betters

Ladies, how are you traveling heavenward? Are you trusting God and putting your hope in Him and His plan for your life to glorify Him and to impact the generations to follow?

Sharon Betters, one of the authors of Aging with Grace, says that after the death of her teen son she made the statement to her husband, Chuck, “If we didn’t have children, I think I would walk away from my faith. Trusting God feels so much harder than blaming him.”

Chuck’s reply was in the form of a question. “If your faith isn’t good enough for you, why do you want our children to cling to the Lord?”

Sharon answered, “Because I know there is nowhere else to go for hope and help. I have to believe that at some point His grace will be enough.”

And it always will be.

Age with grace for the glory of God and for the sake of the generations to follow.

Age gracefully!

How are you traveling heavenward, and how are you aging with grace today, friend?

Read Aging With Grace: Week Five

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