Check! Check! Check!
Barbara got out of bed, splashed some water on her face in the bathroom, then took a brave step. She looked in the mirror. She’d been using a new anti-wrinkle cream for several weeks and today was the day to check for results.
She stretched her cheeks and prodded her eyelids. I don’t look any different. “Another fifty bucks down the drain,” she shouted to the image in the mirror that looked back at her. She picked up the jar of goo and tossed it into the trash. “Take that, you hypocrite.”
Barbara was fed up with these obvious signs of aging. How crummy! She didn’t feel like 71. But her face told her otherwise. And it didn’t help her ego one bit when her co-volunteer at the rescue mission suggested she try the anti-wrinkle cream. Who was she to dish out advice? She was 72 and losing her hair!
Barbara sat down in the kitchen and nibbled on a banana while the coffee perked.
She reached for her iPad and clicked on the Bible app. “Lord, what do you think? Am I as dreadful looking as I feel or as old as my friends indicate with their little jabs and unwanted ideas?” She did a search. It didn’t take long to discover what mattered to God—the fact that he was renewing her day by day.
~ ~ ~
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
~ 2 Corinthians 4:16
She got it right. I always think of this verse at times like that. I Samuel 16:7b “For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
I love all your postings. 🙂
Thanks, Etta Mae, for being a faithful reader. I love the verse you shared. I’ll keep that in mind as I age! 🙂
I remember as a young adult being so shocked when I saw photographs of my grandparents from 20-30 years earlier. They were HOMELY. I couldn’t believe it. In my mind and heart, both my grandmothers were just BEAUTIFUL, and I knew they loved me a lot. But the photos were “accurate.” It was a good life lesson, and I think of that now with my grandkids. They will say, “Nana, you’re beautiful.” I know they mean it, but I see in the mirror that time has marched on a lot. But if, by loving our families, we are beautiful in their sight, what else matters? Do I care if the average Joe (or Joanne) on the street thinks I’m wrinkled and saggy? No, not as long as my family sees me through the rose-colored glasses of love. We can’t control most of the signs of aging, but isn’t it nice that we can largely control how our loved ones view us?
Love what you shared, Kristi. Speaking of love, my granddaughter Mairin texted me this morning with two words. “Love you.” 🙂
Karen, been there, done that! I’ve earned my wrinkles and now call them lifelines.
Cheers.
I agree. They are lifelines, not wrinkles and we earned every one of them. 🙂