Growing Old Gracefully-Not Me

Don't get me wrong, Grace is a wonderful thing. Without God's grace, where would I be? It is an amazing gift to receive. Growing older happens whether I believe in it or not. You young people will have to trust me on this one. No matter how thin you are, how fresh and vibrant your skin looks, or how much you work out, your body is headed downhill. Fast. The cool thing about Grace is, your inward person can be renewed daily. The outside? Well, you can do a lot to preserve it, but it is going to age whether you like it or not.

When I was much younger, I loved reading the scriptures of gray hair being a crown of glory. I was actually excited to embrace that crown. My dad has beautiful white hair. As long as I can remember, he has had at least some gray. Even in his twenties. I inherited his curly hair, so why not his white hair? My hair would be glowing!

As I grew closer to the mature age of 40, I changed my mind. When someone mistook me for being Hilary's grandmother, that did it for me. I ditched the white hair for some color. I will continue in my inward renewal, even though my outward self is deteriorating. But why shouldn't my outward appearance reflect what's on the inside? I choose to add as much life and color as possible as long as I'm able. One day, maybe I will be ok with the proverbial crown of glory. For now, I'm keeping it fired up red.

(For anyone interested in my hair saga in pictures, I've posted them here. A friend is nearing 40 and in a quandary as to what to do with her own hair. So I shared my obsession with her.) If you feel dead inside, ask God to ignite the fire.