Throughout the ages man has searched for the “fountain of youth”-- that magic water that would keep one young and beautiful forever. Of course through much peril and disappointment man has found that to be a myth. There is no potion that can keep you young and beautiful forever. There are however characteristics and qualities that you can acquire and adopt that will make and keep you beautiful no matter what age you are. I would like to explore five: Wonder, Kindness, Humor, Love, and Godliness. Whenever you possess these characteristics and qualities you are beautiful from the inside out; and it doesn’t matter if you are one or one hundred and one, you are beautiful!

Wonder is a quality that we see in babies and young children as they are growing and experiencing life outside the womb for the first time. I have a granddaughter, Tayla who amazes me every day as I watch her grow and explore everything with wide eyes and a ready smile. She is so beautiful! Not just her physical attributes, but her zest for life. She can go back to the same thing that fascinates her over and over again and touch, feel, and ultimately attempt to eat the object of her interest. She was born with inherent wonder. To a certain extent, some more than others, we all are. We are born with an instinct to explore and to learn and everything is a wonder. As we grow older, our experiences teach us to become more and more closed to the world around us. We can sometimes get a cynical attitude that says, been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt. Even as Disciples of Christ, we can become immune to the things of God. We get desensitized by Hollywood movies and we look for the spectacular to equate with the supernatural and it becomes harder and harder to be open to the everyday wonders of God. Wonder is however a quality that we should never lose no matter what age. Wonder looks beautiful when it is genuine. When you are genuinely surprised and amazed with the freshness of life in the Holy Spirit it causes your eyes to sparkle and it produces a childlike expression that is beautiful indeed!

Kindness is a beautiful quality that looks good on anyone. When you look into kind eyes and a kind expression especially when you are in need of some type of assistance or if you have just had a rough day, it really makes the person wearing kindness look very beautiful. Kindness is essentially having a sympathetic or helpful nature and being affectionate, loving, forbearing, and gentle. You can tell the truth and still be kind. It is not what you say but the words you choose to use to say it and therefore how you say it. The Bible states that our words should be seasoned with salt and full of grace (Colossians 4:6). Ultimately kindness is seen by our actions. It’s not just words. It is doing good things for others when we have the opportunity. It is going that extra mile and not complaining. To be kind is to be beautiful no matter how old you are!

Humor- The most important thing that one can do in order to remain beautiful is to laugh. A good sense of humor will make up for bad hair days, pimples, and bloating, that is if you don’t take yourself too seriously. When you don’t look or feel your best look for the humor in your situation. Sometimes just looking in the mirror and seeing how silly you look will cause you to laugh at yourself! It is good to be able to laugh and create laughter in others. That is a beautiful quality especially in today’s world with so much bad news and depressing things going on. In order to have humor, you must look for it. Look for the absurd in everyday life and laugh. Point it out to others so they can laugh as well. Be able to laugh at yourself but don’t make a practice of laughing at others. Laugh with others. There is a saying that says laugh and the whole world will laugh with you.
Rosalind Y. Tompkins is the author of
“As Long As There Is Breath In Your Body,
There Is Hope”, “Rare Anointing” and the newly release
“You Are Beautiful”.
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