Vanity All Is Vanity!
One of the hardest bridges to cross for us ladies is the sense that our body is aging. You look in the mirror and notice sagging chin, little lines and blotches here and there that you haven't seen before. There is also the gray creeping into the hairline...or for some of us white....and if we travel south from there, well.....things just sort of meld into a less than defined curve if you know what I mean.
You realize that the once bright, youthful appearance has left you when your children pick up a photograph taken about 20 years before and you hear candid remarks like, "Oh! Mommy was really young there!" or my favorite..."You WERE so pretty in this picture, mom", (emphasis mine.)
It's true, I'm not the same woman I was in my twenties (Praise the Lord! I was lost then) and not the same as in my thirties or even early forties. Sometimes I pray the Lord would just skip a few steps and give me that new body NOW! This one is in total rebellion to the one my brain remembers it once was. I have to remember Solomon's words ,"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. " It's time to count blessings and realize that this was the body that our Lord meant for me to have. He knew before the foundation of the world that one day I would be just as I am today .This is just a shell......a temporary home until he calls me to Heaven. Should I abuse it? Of course not! Should I not pay attention to it's need for rest....to eat....to drink? No! Do I try to to preserve it by spending hundreds on facelifts, haircolor, makeup and corrective surgery to try to 'even out the bumps'....I don't think so. Don't get me wrong ladies (and gentlemen) I am not against some simple maintenance. Good hygiene, combed hair, clean clothes and saying no to an extra helping here and there are all good things. Ladies, if your husband wants shaved legs on you and wants you to dress a certain way (of course keeping Godly standards in mind), if he likes your hair up instead of down, go for it! Your body is his and you should try to be pleasing to him.
The one problem I see creeping into the Body of Christ is the dissatisfaction with the 'real' woman that is part of God's family. If a true difference is to be seen by those about us then as Godly women,we need to reflect the completeness that Christ in our hearts has made for us.
He never meant for us to have our bodies cut open to 'nip and tuck', he never wanted us to paint our faces to look like the rest of the world (and attract the rest of the world), he never meant for us to color our hair as if we were 25 when we are 50 and hide the 'hoary head' which is honorable , Proverbs 16:31 " The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness."
What sort of message are we sending our children if we feel aging is an undesireable part of life? No, we don't want aches and pains, we want to be energetic and 'up' and feel like we can take on anything. If we all ate right and slept right and exercised like we ought then we probably would be aging a lot more gracefully than we do. So I don't think we can blame God for all those shortcomings, however, we are weak vessels and rightly so. We are made strong through Him and so it's important to recognize those weaknesses and glory in the Lord for our disabilities because He is able for us!.
That is why as mothers, we need to allow our children to see the process of our aging in as natural a fashion as possible. Those wrinkles you earned through time are a history lesson in your personal character. The white or gray in your locks is the outward show of wisdom in the making. The less than girlish figure is a statement of motherhood. Dress appropriately ladies and it can be a badge and not a shame!
Let your daughters see that your older age can be attractive. Don't cover it up and pretend otherwise!
I have always marveled how an aged woman who is biblically literate and is serving the Lord in her life can have such a hard time just being who she is. Having a good testimony for the Lord isn't just about sharing the gospel with the unsaved, it's reflecting Christ in you, the Hope of Glory. Don't dress him up in immodesty. Don't try to fit Him in with fashion plates. Just be the woman that the Lord intended and let your beauty come from your faith.
Psalm 29:2 "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."
One of the hardest bridges to cross for us ladies is the sense that our body is aging. You look in the mirror and notice sagging chin, little lines and blotches here and there that you haven't seen before. There is also the gray creeping into the hairline...or for some of us white....and if we travel south from there, well.....things just sort of meld into a less than defined curve if you know what I mean.
You realize that the once bright, youthful appearance has left you when your children pick up a photograph taken about 20 years before and you hear candid remarks like, "Oh! Mommy was really young there!" or my favorite..."You WERE so pretty in this picture, mom", (emphasis mine.)
It's true, I'm not the same woman I was in my twenties (Praise the Lord! I was lost then) and not the same as in my thirties or even early forties. Sometimes I pray the Lord would just skip a few steps and give me that new body NOW! This one is in total rebellion to the one my brain remembers it once was. I have to remember Solomon's words ,"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. " It's time to count blessings and realize that this was the body that our Lord meant for me to have. He knew before the foundation of the world that one day I would be just as I am today .This is just a shell......a temporary home until he calls me to Heaven. Should I abuse it? Of course not! Should I not pay attention to it's need for rest....to eat....to drink? No! Do I try to to preserve it by spending hundreds on facelifts, haircolor, makeup and corrective surgery to try to 'even out the bumps'....I don't think so. Don't get me wrong ladies (and gentlemen) I am not against some simple maintenance. Good hygiene, combed hair, clean clothes and saying no to an extra helping here and there are all good things. Ladies, if your husband wants shaved legs on you and wants you to dress a certain way (of course keeping Godly standards in mind), if he likes your hair up instead of down, go for it! Your body is his and you should try to be pleasing to him.
The one problem I see creeping into the Body of Christ is the dissatisfaction with the 'real' woman that is part of God's family. If a true difference is to be seen by those about us then as Godly women,we need to reflect the completeness that Christ in our hearts has made for us.
He never meant for us to have our bodies cut open to 'nip and tuck', he never wanted us to paint our faces to look like the rest of the world (and attract the rest of the world), he never meant for us to color our hair as if we were 25 when we are 50 and hide the 'hoary head' which is honorable , Proverbs 16:31 " The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness."
What sort of message are we sending our children if we feel aging is an undesireable part of life? No, we don't want aches and pains, we want to be energetic and 'up' and feel like we can take on anything. If we all ate right and slept right and exercised like we ought then we probably would be aging a lot more gracefully than we do. So I don't think we can blame God for all those shortcomings, however, we are weak vessels and rightly so. We are made strong through Him and so it's important to recognize those weaknesses and glory in the Lord for our disabilities because He is able for us!.
That is why as mothers, we need to allow our children to see the process of our aging in as natural a fashion as possible. Those wrinkles you earned through time are a history lesson in your personal character. The white or gray in your locks is the outward show of wisdom in the making. The less than girlish figure is a statement of motherhood. Dress appropriately ladies and it can be a badge and not a shame!
Let your daughters see that your older age can be attractive. Don't cover it up and pretend otherwise!
I have always marveled how an aged woman who is biblically literate and is serving the Lord in her life can have such a hard time just being who she is. Having a good testimony for the Lord isn't just about sharing the gospel with the unsaved, it's reflecting Christ in you, the Hope of Glory. Don't dress him up in immodesty. Don't try to fit Him in with fashion plates. Just be the woman that the Lord intended and let your beauty come from your faith.
Psalm 29:2 "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."
posted by Eileen Slattery | 12:02 AM
1 Comments:
WONDERFULL!
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