Why Can't We Age?

I listened to a podcast recently that kind of riled me up. (I won't link to it here because I don't think it is qualifies as a beneficial listen.) I thought it would be about aging well, and as a woman getting closer to 40 who also likes to run, I was interested. It turned out to be not quite that. Instead, it was about reversing the effects of aging, taking hormones to stop or slow down the aging process, and eating restrictive diets to maintain peak performance. Why? I'm all for moving well and eating well, but why can't we age?

At the age that I am, I am starting to see forehead wrinkles and aging/sun spots. They are not my favorite, but they are mine. To my benefit, the kids and families I work with no longer think I am one of them and instead see me as more of a professional. Win! Aging is about growth and maturity and gaining wisdom. I hope I am growing in those.

Back to my question: Why can't we age? If God made our hormones to gradually decline, why can't we let them. If God made us to wrinkle and get gray hair, which Proverbs says is "splendor," can't we just embrace it and embrace it well (Proverbs 16:21, Proverbs 20:29, New International Version)? I personally loved my nana's white hair and thought it was beautiful!

If you want to use wrinkle cream (I do!) and dye your hair and use hormones, go for it! You do you!.But for right now, I'm wanting to lean into the aging process, to doing it well and gracefully, if the Lord allows. Yes, I want to stay active. Yes, I want to be healthy. Yes, I want to care for myself. If the natural progression of life is to show age and slow down, though, I am here for it. I want to embrace it, because I believe in a creator who made things the way they are supposed to be, who allows things to be the way they are. Maybe I will think differently when I am a different age, but for now, I am here for this one.

Reference:

New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway.com. http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/