Sacred Calling: A Podcast for Christian Women
Are you on a quest for growth in your marriage and family? Maybe things are good, but they could be better. Or maybe you’re barely surviving. You’ve gotten so far off track and you don’t know how to course correct. If so you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll discover practical ways to contend for, and find fulfillment in your God-given calling. You too can have a joy filled home with God at the center.
Sacred Calling: A Podcast for Christian Women
“Aging Gracefully: Finding Beauty Beyond The Grays”
What happens when cultural obsession with youth collides with Christian values? Turning 45 has me thinking deeply about aging in a society where Americans outspend the entire world on anti-aging products and procedures. This deeply personal episode explores the crossroads many women face when staring at new wrinkles in the mirror or scrolling through filtered social media perfection.
After years of prayer and reflection, I'm sharing the five compelling reasons behind my commitment to age gracefully - from avoiding all-consuming beauty pursuits to modeling authentic womanhood for my daughters. We'll tackle some uncomfortable questions: Are our beauty decisions driven by insecurity or cultural pressure? Are we investing more in our appearance than our relationship with God? And what message are we sending to younger women watching our choices?
The aging journey isn't always smooth - I openly share my struggles with changing appearance and moments of temptation to pursue interventions. Yet there's profound freedom in finding contentment with our natural selves. Whether you're young and already feeling the pressure to "prevent" aging, or further along wondering what measures to take, this conversation offers thoughtful guidance without judgment.
Join me as we explore what Scripture says about true beauty, the power of contentment, and finding peace in each stage of life. As we navigate these waters together, remember: life doesn't end when we no longer look twenty, and there's beauty waiting to be discovered in every season.
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Andrea
Welcome to Sacred Calling. I'm Andrea Nutt, bringing encouragement and truth as we talk through relevant topics we as Christian women, wives and mothers often face. Let's get to it. Today we're going to talk about aging, and this is a really tough topic. It's one that I want to present delicately, but I strongly believe that we should be talking about it and thinking through this topic, especially as Christian women.
Speaker 1:Did you know, americans are the are the top spenders on skincare, cosmetics, anti-aging, anti-aging procedures and plastic surgeries. American women and some men spend far more than any other country in the world on their appearance. That says quite a lot about where our focus is, and I'm about to turn 45 and I have been and I continue to think through, you know, the choices that I want to make and for me, I am committing to certain boundaries for myself and, if I'm honest, I'm struggling at times with the whole aging process. And the reason I believe it's important to be thinking through our decisions regarding what we want to choose to do as we age is because, if we haven't given it prayerful and careful consideration, we are far more likely to make these really big, important decisions based on our feelings and, believe me, there are a lot of feelings happening right In this stage of the game. Like hormones, we're looking in the mirror. We don't like what we see, we look different, we don't recognize ourselves. We look at old pictures, we compare ourselves to those that we see on social media in Hollywood and we, frankly, as women, have so much pressure to look a certain way. And as I've gotten older, and so have the women in my life, my friends, my family, colleagues you know the woman that I see at the grocery store or on Facebook. I have witnessed quite a few doing just about anything to stop or slow down the aging process.
Speaker 1:And at times, truthfully, I myself have gotten caught up in the idea of doing something. I've contemplated procedures or I've Googled stuff and I've even talked things over with my husband. But over the past five years I've prayed and thought a lot about what I want to do, moving forward, what my personal decision is, and it is to I've committed to aging gracefully. What does that mean? It means that I'm embracing the natural process of aging. I'm trying to have a positive attitude, focusing on well-being and my health and finding joy in each stage of life, essentially being okay with and content with where I'm at and whatever my body is doing and being gracious to myself Like it's okay, it's not the end of the world and it's nothing that I can do to stop it, it's not something that is my fault. Like this is just normal. It's my fault, this is just normal.
Speaker 1:And so many of you you know you are in that same stage or you will soon be at those crossroads yourselves and you're going to have to determine what you'll do and how far you'll go. However, this podcast episode isn't strictly for those that are getting older. A lot of the younger generation are doing stuff in the name of, you know, preventative measures or to enhance areas that they want to see improvement or to enhance their beauty, and so this podcast is. This episode is for essentially anyone concerned at all with their appearance, and I'm pretty sure that's all of us. Now, I know, with everything there is a spectrum, right, there are extreme cases, there are people who are taking extreme measures, you know, all the way to the other end. We've got moderate and mild to some people doing absolutely nothing, and I'm not here to tell you what's right for you, but if we take an honest look around a culture, it is getting out of hand and we need to be careful not to fall in too deep, not to get sucked into what everyone else is doing, and so my goal for today is to share with you the top reasons that I came to that really influenced my decision to accept what's happening, and I'm hoping that I maybe help someone else as you process, as maybe you're learning to accept that we're all going to get older, that ultimately, we can chase after the fountain of youth, which has been a quest that many humans have made, probably for all of time, and we've never found it right.
Speaker 1:There's a legend that a Spanish explorer, in Conquistador, landed in Florida in 1513 in search of a magical spring that would grant eternal youth, and now historians aren't in agreement as to whether this is true or if it's a myth, but I don't doubt that if someone believed something like that existed, they would cross oceans to find it. And I'm not here to put my personal convictions onto you. I'm here to share where I landed on this issue, based on, like I said, lots of thoughts, prayer and also a lot of observations of our culture and how it defines beauty, and so today I just want to highlight five of my kind of main reasons. I'm seeking contentment in wherever I'm at in the aging process, and none of these are rules for Christian living. But when we seek to know what the Bible says about specific areas, we can glean truths that would help us inform our decisions and the way that we live our lives. And the Bible is clear that true beauty isn't on the outside, that it isn't what God looks upon when he looks at us, and that the outward appearance shouldn't be our primary focus. You know, we've heard it said forever that it's what's on the inside that counts. So enough of that.
Speaker 1:Let's get into my five main reasons that I've made the commitment to age gracefully, and why. Now, some of these might seem silly to you. They might be like that's your reason. Just bear with me. I promise it will make sense at the end.
Speaker 1:But number one is I personally see that it becomes all consuming, right, it takes up so much headspace. Not only that, but it costs a lot of money, and what I observe is it never seems to be enough. And, as with anything, too much is generally not a good thing. And I can only speculate that, if you're chasing after youth and beauty, that it might increase insecurities. Right, it might be why there's always that sort of next thing you see something else, oh I need to take care of this, something to fix, or the next thing to try, and I can see how dangerous this could be, even for me personally, and frankly I already let this stuff occupy too much headspace. As it is so to be safe and cautious, I just refuse to even go there. It is so to be safe and cautious, I just refuse to even go there.
Speaker 1:Number two as a mom, I think it's important to model for my girls what true beauty is and what's most important, and we have lots of conversations and I don't want them to get swept up in it all. And how many of us, you know, got caught up in one of the newest trends? How many of them do we look back and we go oh, why did I do that? We have such regret, like like. For example, if you're a child of the nineties, you likely regret plucking the heck out of your eyebrows. I tell my girls all the time that being them in their most natural form, their eyebrows, however God made them, is never going to go out of style. So don't fall into the trap of what the current culture says is beautiful, because it will change and when it does, you are likely going to be left with some regret, and I also believe that it's important that, as I am desiring to instill these values, also believe that it's important that, as I am desiring to instill these value values, right, I want my girls to to see themselves as just beautiful beings inside and out, just how God created them, and I'm wanting them to focus on their inner beauty. That I need to be modeling for them, this unwavering commitment to myself. You you know these, you know that what I value, and if I'm committing to that to them, it speaks volumes. And as a mom, we should not have this, you know, do as I say, not as I do approach, because our girls are watching and they are taking notes.
Speaker 1:Now number three. This one might seem really dumb to you, but it is a very, very real reason for me. I am a very honest person and I remember in my 20s I got colored contacts. It was all the rage. Someone complimented me on my eyes. I felt the need to admit that they were not my real eye color. Or when I used to tan obsessively and someone would say how great I looked, I would, I wouldn't feel comfortable, like not saying something. It just felt deceptive and so I'd have to like say, oh, I'm, I'm wearing contacts. I'm not sure why I feel this way, but I do and it's, it's. I feel like I should say something for me and so I don't want to get stuff done. I don't want to get extensions or facelift because someone's likely going to bring it up, they're going to compliment me on something and I'm going to feel the need to explain it. And I know not everyone has this conflict, but man, I sure do. And it is just another reason I don't want to do anything. And, like I said, that might seem really silly to you but it really is legit, like one of my main reasons for not. I don't want to explain that. I don't want to explain my, what I've done to people. I don't want to talk about it.
Speaker 1:Number four as a Christian, I don't believe that I should focus on my outward beauty. You know most of us have heard of the Proverbs 31 woman. She is praised not for her physical beauty but for her strength and virtue and wisdom. And Proverbs 31, 30 emphasizes that outward appearances and superficial traits are temporary, that outward appearances and superficial traits are temporary and they can be misleading, while our true worth lies in our inner qualities and a life lived in reverence and obedience to God. And the description of this woman is a reminder that we should focus on character, integrity, genuine virtue, and to value what's inside a person and to seek God's wisdom and guidance in our lives. Those should be the things that we're focusing on.
Speaker 1:And in 1 Peter, chapter 3, he instructs wives to have a similar focus, particularly those with unbelieving husbands, as a way to witness to them. When he says in verses 3 through 4, do not let your adorning be external the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which, in God's sight, is very precious. That's amazing. He's saying you're focusing on these inner qualities, these character traits. If your heart is being changed and you're focusing on these inner qualities, these character traits, if your, if your heart is being changed and you're being sanctified, your husband's going to be, he's going to see that, he's going to be attracted to that, it's going to witness to him far more than your external beauty. And now neither of these passages are saying that beauty is a bad thing. It's just pointing out where our priority should be, what our central focus should be as Christian women and, ultimately, the impact that we can have if we shift our focus on those right things.
Speaker 1:Number five as a person who has worked hard to live a healthier lifestyle, when it comes to the food that we're eating as a family my household cleaners you know I'm avoiding what I can. That's toxic. It's everywhere we don't use plastic. There's a lot of changes I've made in the last five years and I don't believe that a lot of the things that are out there that are supposed to enhance our appearance are good for us, and I think that, as we all know, that it takes time until we see just the evidence of the consequences and problems that arise from these things, and I don't doubt that there are a lot of unwanted side effects or negative impacts that happen to our bodies when we're injecting things or doing things and taking these drastic measures.
Speaker 1:I mean take breast implant illness. I personally known several women who have had to get their implants removed because they were the cause of a whole host of medical issues, and when I look at things like Botox. You know, knowing that, what muscles do when they're not in use they atrophy. Essentially, they're shrinking and they're weakening, and I really believe that Botox is likely causing more issues under the surface as it relates to aging, and probably increasing the need for additional things like fillers, because your face is likely experiencing long-term atrophy and that is not natural and I'm guessing it's not a good idea. I'm just looking at these things logically.
Speaker 1:I'm not a scientist, but I can see, you know, patterns throughout. You know, even just in my lifetime, where things were introduced that we later determined like did more harm than good. And so, as a me personally, I just want to be careful and as I've gotten older and I've tried really hard to live a life that is healthy and free of as many harmful or unnatural substances as possible, and so, for this reason, I have a strong personal conviction about doing things or putting things into my body that go against you know what I value, what I've worked really hard to do in our family and, like I said, you might think these things are silly and you may have a different list of reasons, but the important thing is that we are making lists and weighing out our decisions and thinking through and praying about and seeking to desire that which God desires. And so my top five. It's not meant to be an exhaustive list, it's not even all the reasons why I don't do what I do, but and it's not even one for you to live by. But hopefully it just helps you know, get you know. You started right, even if you're just start asking yourself some questions, and so I came up with some questions that you might ask yourself as you spend time examining you know what you, what you value, what God desires for you, what your motivations are for some of the decisions that you're making or wanting to make. So here's some questions.
Speaker 1:Is this societal pressure or a self-esteem issue? Yeah, does this line up with my values and with my faith? Is my desire for this rooted in a healthy sense of self or rooted in insecurities? Am I doing this in the hopes that it will fix some other issue, for example, a lack of intimacy in my marriage? What are the benefits? What are the risks? Am I putting superficial needs above other needs? Am I doing this based on a cultural standard of beauty or a genuine desire to change something that affects my overall well-being? Who in my life is watching my decisions and will potentially follow in my footsteps. How does this affect my financial situation and will it burden our family? Affect my financial situation and will it burden our family? Have I done all that I can, or am I looking for a quick fix, and a really tough one? Am I putting more effort into my outward appearance than I am?
Speaker 1:In growing as a Christian and in my relationship with God, I do believe we should be taking care of ourselves. I believe we should take pride in the way that God created us as women, as, however that is, for each of us it looks different, and so one of the ways that there's a lot of things that I do I don't just wear sweats all day and not take a shower and put makeup on. I love looking pretty. My favorite thing is to wear dresses, but one of the things that I've committed to is doing what I can, naturally, and so there are some things that were really important to me. One of the things when I going back to that question um, oh, what was it? Um, oh, what was it? Hold on, I just had it. Oh, it was something. Oh, I know it was. Am I doing this based on a cultural standard of beauty or a genuine desire to change something that affects my overall well-being.
Speaker 1:And one of the things that genuinely affected how I felt about myself was my teeth, and so I had a strong desire to invest my money and my time in Invisalign treatments, and that was really important to me. I wanted to have nice teeth. I did not like what I saw in pictures. I felt very self-conscious. It was, you know, it's one of those things that a lot of people deal with. I get it, it's not, it was. It was a big deal to me and I felt like it was a natural thing that I could change. That wasn't going to, you know, taking extreme measures.
Speaker 1:But when I finished with the treatment, the orthodontist then offered me teeth bleaching and oh my gosh, I was so tempted because here I had this very straight smile, beautiful, you know, wide smile, and I really wanted to get the teeth bleaching. And I had to ask myself does this align with my commitments? And, fortunately for me, I have relatively white teeth. It's something that people comment on and I kind of went back to that If I bleach them, people are going to say something, that I'm going to have to say something. But once that offer was on the table, it just seemed that my beautifully straight teeth were not enough. I needed more.
Speaker 1:Right, this discontentment with my smile crept in. But I also knew it went against my non-toxic, healthy lifestyle. So, after wrestling with it, I let that idea go. And you know what? I am so stinking happy with my teeth. I no longer look in the mirror and think, oh, I wish they were whiter, I need to bleach them. I love them. They're beautiful just the way. I no longer look in the mirror and and think, oh, I wish they were whiter, I need to bleach them, I love them. They're beautiful just the way they are. They're no longer crooked. That's amazing.
Speaker 1:And so, as I've practiced contentment, I've learned to focus less on what I don't like, and it it's not always easy. It's up and down, right, there's things that come up and you got to really work through them, but I can appreciate the way that God made me and it's something that that contentment is something to be practiced. We have to take our thoughts captive. We have to continually speak truth to ourselves, and when you find contentment in something like when I let go of the idea that I need to bleach my teeth, there's just so much more peace and freedom in that. And can I just say like I have really good days and bad days, or maybe not bad days, but like really hard moments, like the struggle is real.
Speaker 1:It is not easy to get older. It is not easy to look different, to know what's ahead, and it's not fun, I get it, but it doesn't have to take us out. Life isn't over just because we no longer look like we're 20. And I want to end here encouraging all the older women in my life that are aging gracefully. I find it so refreshing to see your natural beauty, your laugh lines and your gray hair and just seeing you with your grandkids in this new stage of life.
Speaker 1:I never look at you and think, wow, she should do something. Wow, she's looking old. You are beautiful just the way you are. Let's celebrate getting older instead of looking at it as a curse. And that goes for the young women that are fearful of aging and trying to do all they can to prevent it. It's going to be all right. There's other things to look forward to. Life is still meaningful, it is still wonderful. And to the woman struggling with insecurities and the pressure to look a certain way you are beautiful, just the way you are, I promise. Thanks for tuning in. I pray you feel inspired to live out your unique and sacred calling. Until next time, remember you serve a God who is bigger than all that comes your way. Thank you.