"Romance is for the young—at my age, it's foolish to even want it."
How it sounds in your head: You feel embarrassed when your heart flutters at the thought of companionship. Society says women your age should be content with grandchildren and memories, not longing for romance. Wanting love feels like vanity, like you should be past such 'frivolous' desires.
"Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
-- Psalm 37:4Cultural contempt for the desires of older women and religious shaming of romantic longing.
Every romantic comedy, every love song, every Valentine's ad features young faces. Your desires feel out of place, like you're reaching for something that doesn't belong to you anymore.
Ruth was likely past typical childbearing age when she married Boaz—she'd been married before with no children, was a widow, a foreigner, a gleaner. Yet God gave her not only a husband but a SON in her later years, and she became the great-grandmother of King David—ROMANCE, LEGACY, MIRACLE.
I REFUSE the lie that my desires for love and romance are foolish or age-inappropriate. IT IS WRITTEN that as I delight in the Lord, He gives me the DESIRES of my heart—not the desires the world approves but the desires HE PLANTED. My heart's longings are not vanity; they are VALID, HOLY, and worthy of fulfillment. IT IS WRITTEN in Psalm 103:5 that He satisfies my mouth with GOOD THINGS so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's. I am not past my prime—I am in the season of RENEWAL. I am covered by the Abrahamic blessing, which means goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life, INCLUDING the desire for companionship. The Father is not rolling His eyes at my romantic heart—He's running toward me ready to FULFILL every desire He Himself authored.
The Father doesn't see your desire for romance as foolish—He sees it as beautiful, as evidence that your heart is still alive, still hoping, still believing. He doesn't put expiration dates on love, and He's not done writing your love story just because you've turned a certain number of pages.