The Importance of Wrinkles

I remember as a child being fascinated with the wrinkles on my mother and grandmother’s faces. Being a perceptive little one, I noticed that their faces had a different, smoother and softer texture than mine, which was largely due to the influence of wrinkles. I loved touching their faces because of the way their skin felt- wrinkles were a cool thing then.

This evening I looked at my face in the mirror and experienced a rather disheartening feeling as I noticed the changes that have slowly been taking place on my face.

I read in one of my textbooks this semester that our faces and bodies are constantly changing, even after we become adults. If you haven’t seen someone for 10 years, they look different than the last time that you have seen them. That change is deeper than just a new haircut or color or even the addition of new wrinkles. Their face is different.

Tonight I noticed subtle changes in my skin texture; the addition of fine lines that I’m sure will mature in to very obvious wrinkles someday, sooner rather than later. I know that as I prepare to graduate from college, there are some people whom I love that I will not see for a couple of years. I hope that when I see them again, more than just my face has changed. I hope that the change that is occurring is much deeper than skin.

What makes women’s wrinkles so attractive to me still (I like them on other people, not me!) is that each of them stands for a story or a trial that was endured and overcome. They are a testament that hard times do not last, they can be survived, but they still can leave lasting marks. The marks that these events leave aren’t always a bad thing, they are a reminder to ourselves and to others that there is more to life than current circumstances. (I need to see this more clearly in my own life and skin)

Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Phil. 4:11). I pray that as wrinkles are defined and new ones are added that learning to be content would be the lesson learned, for my own life and yours.