I write mysteries, but the greatest mystery of all is the identity of the old woman who inhabits every mirror of my house! Every one. I can’t look in any mirror and see the real me–vibrant, young, happy, not a gray hair on my head. No! This stranger has taken over. So, who is she, anyway?
Could it be me? If it is, what happened to the woman I used to be? Is there a reward for the absence of youth, something that doesn’t show up in the mirror? Wisdom, maybe? Patience, endurance, knowledge? An out-pouring of love and compassion? Well, you’d think, wouldn’t you?
Age should have some rewards. I have all this accumulated wisdom gleaned by experience which I would gladly share with others. Now, that would be so rewarding–to share my mind with people who obviously need help. If they would only ask! So, why don’t they? Ask, I mean. It’s frustrating.
The Bible says that I am to renew my mind (a very good idea when tempted to dwell on lost youth), and to bear with the infirmities of others. I assume this means that I should bear those infirmities silently and not point them out because another Scripture reminds me, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord” (Psalm 141:3). Boy! This is hard.
Perhaps I should write a Book of Encouragement for those of us who need help in realizing that although we feel like we’re sixteen years old, being a teenager happened some time back in the 1950s.
To be honest, as I look back on my younger days, some of those learning experiences were painful; in fact, a few were no fun at all. And today, well, today, although the stranger in the mirror tells me I might no longer be able to shinny up a tree or swing up on a horse’s back from a tree stump or run down a rocky lane barefoot, I’m pretty content with this season of life. It’s cool. Groovy.
Footnote: If you didn’t get to see the enormous okra plant my brother and sister-in-law grew in Oklahoma, take a look. It’s pretty cool too. I’ve never seen one this large. Have you?
Speak Your Mind