Aging with Grace and Purpose

 

Dear Friends,

Does it seem strange how much we worry and fret about growing old? Some go to great lengths to cover up wrinkles or tighten skin. Others retreat from active lives, limiting their adventures in hopes of delaying the inevitable. But in my experience, avoiding life only seems to hasten the very things we fear.

It is better, then, to embrace life—as Maya Angelou so beautifully puts it:

"I love living. I love that I'm alive to love my age... I love, too, that I know a little more today than I did yesterday, or I simply know it more profoundly."

Aging is not a decline but a deepening. When we remember that we are beloved children of a loving God—growing day by day into our inheritance in His Kingdom—we find the courage to keep moving forward, even when the path is hard. In recovery circles we say, “If we’re not moving forward, we’re sliding backward.” Both thoughts speak to a truth: progress—spiritual, mental, and physical—is our best antidote to the fear of aging.

Of course, I’m not so naïve as to say aging doesn’t bring its challenges. But I’ve learned to meet them with humor and grace. As Shakespeare wisely wrote:

“With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.”

A friend once told me that his mother used to say, “I’m not afraid of dying—I just want to live all the way to the end.” To me, that is not only honest, it’s profound philosophy.

Scripture reinforces this hopeful endurance. In Matthew 24:13 we read:

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

And from the Book of Mormon, we’re reminded in 2 Nephi 2:25:

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
Even in our later years, joy is not only possible—it is our purpose.

President Russell M. Nelson, a prophet in his 90s who continues to teach and serve with vigor, once encouraged:

“The Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.”
Our effort to keep learning, loving, and growing—even as our bodies change—is itself a sacred offering.

So let’s wear our years not as burdens, but as blessings. Let’s keep showing up, staying engaged, and offering our wisdom and love to a world that needs it. For as long as we are here, we are here for a reason.

Let us live—not just long, but well.
Let us love our age, and the God who walks with us through every season of it.

With hope and fellowship,
Steve