Wanted: Gray Hairs And Wrinkles

"The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old." Proverbs 20:29

"Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out. " Proverbs 20:5

When I have a problem and need to find answers, I've learned the value of consulting older believers.

Our culture does not place much value on aged folks.  They aren't sexy or charismatic. Their weaker bodies are assumed to house weak minds and dusty, irrelavent memories. Even those who respect the elderly can seem to do so with an undercurrent of patronizing condescension at times. They defer to older people out of manners, and that's ok, but I wish people would see silver hair as a tiara to treasure and wrinkled skin as a garment of honor.

Like a badge on a policeman indicates he or she received training for her duties, gray hair says, "Ask me, I've been there."

 Wrinkles should not be a turn-off, but a magnet that pulls you close enough to to  find confident answers that trump educated guesses any day.

As a good lasagna becomes better after a night in the fridge, so the older woman has been seasoned by life, and her aroma is sweet like the Jesus Who brought her this far. She has not always been as peaceful and God-assured as she is now. Those virtues were forged in the kiln of time. She's ripe for the asking. So, please, ask her!

  Many, however, do not ask. They reinvent the wheel and waste valuable time duplicating mistakes rather than learning from hers.

  Of course wisdom does not always accompany old age. You must consider an individual's worldview and whether she has stayed on God's easel. She doesn't have to be perfect for you to recognize God's workmanship.

All I am saying is this: you and I would do well to drink deeply of the wellspring of wisdom hiding under heads of gray and covered by crinkles and lines. The Word of God provides a map for every life, but an older sister in the faith can be a precious guide for how to walk out those instructions in the hard places, the gray areas, and the jagged terrain of real life.

Talk About It: Who are the older people in your life who can provide godly guidance for you?