With or Without Wrinkles!

I was dumbfounded when I read about a woman who—for 40 years—refused to laugh—or even smile! I was even more flabbergasted when I read why. (Brace yourself, Dear Reader.) She wanted to avoid getting wrinkles around her eyes and lips!

Oh, I thought, the lengths some people go to in order to hide the effects of aging! But aging is inevitable. Take a look at the rich and famous—who have access to all sorts of anti-aging potions and procedures. Even so, “old age” impacts them, too. Their skin wrinkles, their voices quaver, their spines curve, their muscles atrophy….as ours do.

We certainly should take proper care of our bodies and try to look our best. But if we hyperfocus on the externals, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the things that are eternal and, therefore, fail to pay much, if any, attention to them.

Dear Reader, may you and I make choices based on God’s Word, which repeatedly reminds us that what’s going on on the inside of us is far more important than what’s going on on the outside. 

For example: 1 Peter 3:2, NLT, says, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”

A person with such a spirit is beautiful--with or without wrinkles--and a joy to be around!