I was listening to a podcast last week about perspective. The woman speaking shared how she spoke to her church one Sunday, beginning her testimony with all the struggles in her life: She was in her 40s and single, making finding a spouse incredibly difficult. She was on staff at a church, a trying, lonely job. She was living in Southern California, an incredibly expensive location, especially for a single woman.

Then she paused and said, “Let me start over.” And she did. She said because she was in her 40s and single, she had decades to observe what made marriages work and what made them fail. As a result, she felt more confident in her search for a godly spouse and her preparation to be a godly spouse. Being on staff at a church, she continued, is a blessing. She gets paid to love people! And she lives in Southern California – people pay to vacation where she lives every day. It is awesome.

Same testimony, same circumstances. But what a difference perspective makes! It reminds me of this picture – you can look at it and see the profile of a beautiful young woman, or you can see the profile of a wrinkled old woman. It all depends on your perspective.

I was convicted, as I listened to that podcast, that I had been for too long looking at the “wrinkled old lady” side of life (no offense to any old ladies reading this. I am closer to joining your ranks than I am to being one of the young beauties!). All theses changes happening – at work, in my home, on my face! I’ve been mourning the changes, hating them, trying to prevent them.

But I’m going to start over. These changes? They are are opportunities to trust God, to see Him work. He is doing new things, and I get to be part of them! As my kids grow and start leaving the nest, I get to see answers to years of prayers. My children love Jesus and are serving Him. What a blessing! And, yes, I am getting older. But these wrinkles also reflect lessons learned, maturity gained. And you know what? My husband of almost 22 years still thinks I’m beautiful! Not only has our marriage survived this long, but as we anticipate the emptying of nest, we are dreaming together about the next chapter in our lives.

Perspective.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Phil. 4:8