Growing Young
"We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!" (Ps 75:1 NKJV)
As I have moved into my forties now I have begun to see more and more that
body age has very little to do with soul age. My body keeps telling me again and
again that I am getting older. My soul, however, seems to laugh at the thought.
Just this morning I awoke to an aching back and stumbled into the bathroom. I
stretched and popped my back as much as I could and then looked in the mirror.
My thinning salt and pepper hair was mostly salt. My forehead was lined with
deep wrinkles and my frowning face made me look like a tired, middle-aged man.
This depressed me but only for a few seconds. Then I remembered that whether I
grow old or grow young is very much up to me. I said, "good morning" to God,
thanked Him once again for my life and smiled in the mirror. Amazingly, the
wrinkles in my forehead disappeared while the laugh lines around my eyes grinned
with joy. My sleepy eyes began to sparkle and I watched as fifteen years
disappeared from my face in a second.
No matter how old this body of mine may get my soul remains young. This is true
for all of you as well. Whether you are 18, 48, or 80 you can still live with
the love and laughter of an 8 year old. When it comes to eternity age is a
number and the body is a liar. The only years that matter are the years you
spend loving others.
Before you get lost looking for the fountain of youth then, take a look inside
of yourself. You may find that your spirit is still young, vital, happy, and
wrinkle free. You may see that the ability to give love and share joy knows no
age. You may realize that when it comes to eternity our lives are here for only
a brief moment in time. God created your soul and God created the body that
carries it around. One is temporary, but one is forever. Don’t spend too much
time then worrying about the one that won’t last when you can be living for the
one that will.
By: Joseph J. Mazzella