Beauty in Wrinkles



























What is beauty? I would venture to say that there is at least one thousand definitions to describe the word "beauty", for as they say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". The concept of beauty plays a monumental part in our existance. Without beauty, life would be dull and unappealing. Imagine life without the brilliant, artist color pallete, mixed into hues and shades that could only be created by God, the master artist Himself. Our world has created standards of beauty, but starting right now, I would like to challenge you to look beyond the standard and find beauty in things that are unnoticed; in things that may not be inititally as striking as a Hawaiian sunset.

This afternoon at work, I took pictures of my residents and their family members for no charge to them. Earlier that morning I had two wonderful volunteers come in and do makeovers for my residents. Through the mist of hair spray, the heat of the curling iron and the laughter in the fellowship, it was evident to me that my female residents were not only feeling "good", but were actually beginning to feel "pretty".

Think about it. How difficult would it be to feel pretty at 85? Your hair isn't as full as full as it used to be, and this includes your eyebrows and eyelashes. your makeup doesn't go on as smoothly because it lands in all the creases of your wrinkles, and you hide your true smile because your teeth are a bit cracked and some may be missing. You struggle to be fashionable in your shoe choices, as they only make supportive tenny shoes in a limited amount of colors. Not to mention that if your eye sight is poor, you can't clearly see any of those factors anyways, so you are always at the mercy of those around you.

Just look at those pictures. There is no other word then "beautiful" to describe them. In every "old" person is a young girl or boy; they still have youth to spare. We can only hope to radiate the beauty that these people do. It is at this age that true beauty is more evident. When everything seems to be "falling apart" physically, it is then that the inner beauty of these individuals shines through. Beautiful is a woman at rest with her life with a radiant smile, or a man who is still deeply in love with his bride of over 60 years. That, my friend, is beauty. As Christians, we are called to step beyond the standards of the world. When we do this, we physically and spiritually break the walls of this world, raising the bar, and reaching the lost.


May you have the courage to not only cultivate your inner beauty, but to also encourage that same cultivation in the lives of those around you. May you be reminded that unlike our bodies, God's precious, deep and beautiful love does not fall apart or fade, but remains intact in this life and the life to come.

























































































































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