Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/52581
I'm Just Sayin' BY CECILIA AMOROCHO HICKERSON that it is obsessed with avoiding aging. Plastic surgeries, rehydrating creams, wrinkle reducers, hair dyes, hair volu- mizers, exercise regimens, special diets—all of these approaches are peddled to a willing population. Fifty has been proclaimed the new thirty. Thirty years of life still is twenty years shy of the new thirty, but it makes us feel better to say that it ain't so. So it occurs to me that if God is the creator of I absolutely everything and has always existed, and if archaeologists are correct about our planet being billions of years old, then why should we worry about getting older? Comparatively speaking, our most senior cente- narians are just spring chickens. I'm just sayin'. I cannot believe that I am the only woman who admits to being relieved to leave her twenties, nonplussed at shedding her thirties, and full of hope at the prospect of abandoning her forties for what she believes will be decades of increasing wisdom and inner peace. Please don't tell me if I'm wrong about this. My radiant white- haired mother wore her silvering curls as a badge of honor and courage, and I must say that I felt proud when, asked by my father where I got the glittering frost at my temples, I answered, "From my husband and my son"— and he solemnly nodded in agreement. He acknowl- edged that marriage and motherhood are not for the faint of heart. Stick with it and eventually you get to sit back and watch your own kids toughing it out. 've been thinking. . . . Our culture appears to be obsessed with aging. . . . No, it's more accurate to say Okay, I'll admit that I'm too unorganized and finan- cially challenged to keep up with coloring my hair; but if I could wake up tomorrow morning with my hair com- pletely silver, I'd do so, and gladly. Remember, Proverbs 16:31 says, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life," and Proverbs 20:29b assures us that " . . . the beauty of the aged is their gray hair." Really, it says that in the Bible. You can look it up. And au naturel also is easier on the pocketbook, sisters. I'm just sayin'.Again. Of course, waning hair color and epidermal elasticity are, ultimately, only superficial aspects of getting older. I'm serious about believing that wisdom, patience and perspective come to us through the experience of years and the accumulation of shared insight. Why else would God, through Moses, tell the children of Israel, "You shall rise before the aged, and defer to the old" (Lev. 19:32a)? For each generation, there is great wealth to be found in the presence of elders. We look to parents for advice as we navigate childhood and adulthood; all along, of course, they challenge, nurture, enrich and bless us in deep and abiding relationships as they strive to equip us to become caring, conscientious individuals. We, in turn, are entrusted to do the same for the next generation. It's a big responsibility that is tackled and passed on from age to age, amen. With such important work to do, who has time to worry about getting old? I'm just sayin'. Cecilia Amorocho Hickerson is a mother, spouse, church musician, artist and writer living in Louisville, Kentucky. devotion Thinkstock.com