Beauty beyond age.

     What if there really is a Fountain of Youth? Would you plunge right into it? Would you, right away, drink from it? Or would you rather let yourself be and enjoy the process of aging?

     Aging is a common fear especially amongst women. In fact, along with it, comes our subconscious and conscious what ifs. What if I grow old old fat and ugly? What if my husband will then abandon me for a young woman? What if I become sickly and my children won't take care of me? What if my pension won't be enough for my expenses? These questions and many others had been crossing my mind for a while now after the thought of my age and the feeling of being beaten and left out by the younger generations got into my nerves.

     But as I looked ate my mother, I got back to my senses and realized that getting old is a choice. One can grow up without getting old. I realized that, though I can age as everybody else will, I can choose what kind of old person I want to be! I want to be just like my mom! She's been through a lot even until now and, yet, at the age of 52, she looks like our elder sister- so young, charming and beautiful! Beauty is, indeed, beyond age.

God-abiding or self-imposed righteousness?

     "You're not allowed to join the group anymore because you have sinned. Until you have reformed and repented your sins, you're not allowed to go back to the group." I have heard this inconsiderate and straight-forward statement before. And, though it was not meant for me,  I know it really hurts a lot hearing these especially if it comes from a person whom you've thought to be your friend for a long time.

     It is really hard to believe sometimes that there are people who will not think twice to condemn you if you have not followed their rules and standards. Perhaps they're afraid that you might become a bad influence or because they thought that since you've sinned, you are now less deserving for God's attention unlike them.

     God is the God of love and mercy. His love is unconditional and there is nothing you can do that will affect GOD's love for you because GOD loves each one of us equally, may you be an atheist or a believer, a preacher or a prisoner, an upright woman or a whore.

     God has no requirements or qualifications for His mercy and yet, we people think He does! We curse the sinners not thinking that we are sinners, too! We humiliate unwed mothers, unmarried couples, whore, killers and other sorts of criminals yet we, ourselves, should also be humiliated for doing so.

     Are we really doing this because we obey God? Or is it because we thought that we know better than Him so we have imposed our own standards?