Aging With Grace: A Review
Aging With Grace: Flourishing in an Anti-aging Culture by Sharon Betters and Susan Hunt. Crossway, 192 pages, 2021.
Is it true that “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle”? Susan Hunt and Sharon Betters argue that the statement isn’t true at all. Instead, the authors explain, we must tell the Lord, “…we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chron. 20:12). Though they admit that there’s much people don’t know about aging, these two women are confident in the goodness of God and the soundness of scripture to bring about fruit in old age.
The authors turn to Psalm 92 and Psalm 71 as a basis for their book. Writing for a female audience, they use examples of godly women throughout the Bible and the modern age, citing a wealth of scripture and personal stories that illustrate the faithfulness of God in every life situation—even conditions of seeming uselessness and incapacitation.
Susan and Sharon do not write from a position of Pollyanna perfection. They have each dealt with difficult trials of their own, and they share some of those trials freely at the beginning of the book. Each chapter covers an aspect or story of aging with grace, ending with reflection and study questions. A leader’s guide for this book is also available.
“This book is not about being an older, better version of ourselves,” they write, it is “about what God has committed to do.” They emphasize that getting older is not about becoming more fulfilled with skills or diversions but rather becoming more Christlike. They profile qualities of the date palm, stating that every part of a date palm is usable, and as the tree ages, its fruit becomes sweeter. The authors discuss how the analogy of the palm translates to different types of roles that believing women will be called upon to fulfill depending on their phase of life.
When Sharon was 45 years old, her teenage son Mark was killed in a car accident. She explains that her grieving process led to a series of choices she had to make. The authors compare Sharon’s decisions to their theory about the difficulties that the “Matriarchs of Jeremiah” faced: when Israelite women recognized that they would be in captivity in Babylon for 70 years, they each had to decide to: 1. Submit and invest in their community, 2. Submit outwardly but harbor bitterness, or 3. Openly rebel against the situation and the Word of the Lord. Similarly, aging presents a series of choices when we are faced with difficult situations that must be surrendered to God.
“There is credibility in an older woman’s declaration that God never left her even in her darkest places and times,” writes Susan. She cites how Elizabeth states in Luke 1:25 that “the Lord looked on me.” There is comfort in knowing that the Lord we serve is one who looks on even unlikely candidates to exercise his plan.
The authors do not make light of aging or add humor. They do not often reference the anti-aging culture or the potent difficulties that it represents (though that is part of the title). However, the lack of these two ingredients allows the book to focus on potent scriptures and applications regarding a Christ-empowered aging process. Their work would make an excellent book study for any woman between the ages of 35 and 95. The amount of scripture included in the book could qualify it for being a topical Bible study.
The authors of this book excel at treating the path ahead with reverence and responsibility. Besides setting great examples themselves, they speak into a void of information for the believing woman who intends to navigate aging with continued lifegiving. I highly recommend it.