Wrinkles in Time

Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding? Job 12:12

Yesterday I turned the big 4-0! Still hard for me to believe, and I will confess I started out the day a bit grumpy.

In case you can't make out the sign in the photo, it says, "Christy Long - Made in 1970," - courtesy of my lovely daughter, Madison. Does that mean I'm an antique? It was posted on the fence in our front yard so that all the people who drive up and down our road would be sure to see it!

At first, I was tempted to pull the covers back over my head, but then I paused and remembered to count my blessings.

God has blessed me with 40 years of life. And I can't complain. Except for a couple of years at the beginning of the last decade, I've had a pretty good life overall. Oh I know that more trials are bound to come my way as long as I'm still here on this earth, but I choose to thank God for the good He brought out of the bad in my life. He has blessed me beyond measure and I am forever thankful for His amazing love and redeeming grace.

So instead, I decided my new motto would be, "40 and Fabulous!"

Funny though because even as I get older I still feel young on the inside. There are wrinkles on my face that didn't used to be there and I unfortunately don't wear the same size clothing I wore 15-20 years ago. However, in my heart, I'm still the same girl I've always been. An oldie goldie 80's tune will take me back and I can't help but sing along or sometimes even dance to my children's horror! But thank goodness I believe I have a little more wisdom than I did back in the day.

Of course, I am far from perfect and I still have much to learn. Certain that I will still be every bit as dependent on Him at 80 (Lord willing) as I am at 40, praise God that He is not finished with me yet. I stumble and mess up all too often, but His Word gives me hope... "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

I'll close with two quotes from Mark Twain:

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."

And, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Praising God for His blessings over the past 40 years and hoping my wrinkles show a lifetime of smiles! :)