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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Wait a Minute!!!!


Some days I feel my age more than others. I've noticed that I avoid having to bend over and pick things up off the floor. And I prefer the kind of shoes that you just slide your feet into, without having to pull them on. And lately, it seems I need my glasses for more and more things. And I don't like it. I don't like the fact that I am "middle aged". I want to shout "wait a minute! I'm too young to be old! I'm just starting to figure things out! If I'd realized I would get old this fast, I would have appreciated being young more!" It just doesn't seem fair, somehow. The first 40 years of my life seemed to go pretty slowly. But lately, time is just flying by.

Since I've turned 50 (a few years ago, now), I've noticed my physical appearance "changing" at an alarming rate. It's like my body has said, "ok, now it's time to show my age". I see people that I went to school with and think "boy, have they ever aged!" Then I realize they are likely thinking the same thing about me. Let me repeat, I don't like it.

But what I like even less is the fact that I am bothered by it. Because I hate how society has made us believe that getting older is less than desireable. Or should I say that LOOKING older is bad. It's ok to be 60, so long as you can pass for 49. Hollywood wants us to believe that the older we are, the less attractive we become. Wrinkles are to be avoided at all costs, and why on earth would you let your hair go gray? Don't you know you can take years off of your appearance with a bit of hair color now and then?

We are so taken up with outward appearance, so fixated on staying "youthful" looking. We look upon aging as the worst possible "disease", and spend millions of dollars on trying to make these old bodies carry on just a little longer.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy and productive for as long as we can. But why do we have to be phobic about aging? It is a natural process, and one that we cannot avoid. For those of us who have received the gift of eternal life, the thought of getting old and dying shouldn't fill us with dread. Rather, we should look upon each passing day as one step closer to making the transition to our eternal home, where we will put on immortality. We can't have it here, in these bodies. But we will have it one day. And it will be a million times more wonderful than having smooth skin or a perfect figure.

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

5 comments:

Kat said...

Hey Maureen!

I've been thinking about the same thing lately! I've been watching more t.v. than usual lately (my husband is on a business trip) and...since we just got cable (at a cheap rate :P). It's shocking how extremely vain and selfish the standards of beauty are, and watching certain programs just depresses me! Oh how i long for Heaven where the focus will be only on the glory of our Creator! I read Ephesians 4 last night and thought what a contrast the admonition is to the fallen world we live in!

I've struggled to put my feelings into words about this whole thing... I know God looks at the heart, but it is so hard to live in a culture so cold and obsessed with beauty and what you can give. We have no value for the weak. I love that Christ had "no beauty" that man would desire Him and I long for Him to make all things redeemed and for His glory! Well, sorry for the soapbox, it's just this has been on my mind this week :).

Blessings and love,
your friend in MS! :)

Ike said...

I'm not phobic about turning 60 and looking like I'm 49.

*Remember..."You're so vain..I bet you think this song is about you!"

Ike said...

Do we lose heart when our bodies give way to the aging process, and we have to admit that we will never do certain things again. Or do we look to the resurrection and take heart?

We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Maureen said...

Kat, I am right there with you. It is especially hard to watch young girls trying to emulate those teeny bopper idols. They are caught in the trap of looking "sexy and attractive" at such a young age. Younger all the time, it seems.

But our hope is in things that will never perish! Such as the glory of God, and the righteousness of Christ. We have such a hope!

Maureen said...

Ike, I couldn't imagine you ever being phobic about ageing. You are too aware of the things in life that truly matter. And yes, we do take heart, because we have the gift of faith, and our hope is in the things that we can't yet see. But we know they will come to pass, in His perfect time.