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Feeling Old and Tatty?!

January
10

I’ve had the same Bible for about fifteen years now, and it’s looking quite a bit the worse for wear.

When Miss 15 was just a bub, she ripped out the front pages (Genesis starts at Chapter 18!); the front cover has fallen off completely and been reattached with sturdy duct tape; and it’s faded, with the pages creased and curling up at the corners.

However tatty it looks though, I don’t want a new one! My Bible has become an old and dear friend. Years of constant use means that I know exactly where to find things when I need them. Scriptures that have been particularly meaningful to me are marked with highlighter, while some passages are underlined. There are explanations and prayer requests scribbled in the margins, and sermon notes on the flyleaf.

To anybody else it might look old and tattered, but if anything it is even more valuable to me than it was when I first bought it and it was shiny and new. A new Bible just wouldn’t be the same!

At a recent Footprints meeting, the girls (okay maybe we’re not “girls” anymore as not one of us is under 30!) were discussing some of the side effects of ageing.

I revealed to the other Team Members that lately I have been feeling a bit “old and tattered”. Everywhere I look – on the street, on TV, in magazines – are the “beautiful people” and the gap between me and them is only growing wider.

Now I’m 45, my skin has lost its youthful glow and there are a few lines and wrinkles appearing. I have a new crease above my mouth, especially when I first wake up in the morning.

My tummy has the dreaded middle-age spread; I’ve developed tuckshop lady arms.

And it seems each time I look in the mirror there is a new grey hair, sparkling defiantly at me!

But as I sat with my Bible in front of me that day, I felt God whispering to me that although I may be showing signs of wear and tear, I definitely haven’t outlived my usefulness either!

In fact just like my precious Bible, He has poured His grace, wisdom and love into me. No matter how I may be feeling or looking, I know that I am treasured – by my God, by my husband, by my children, by my friends and by my readers – and I am blessed!

PRAISE GOD there is no such thing as old and tatty in His Kingdom!

Proverbs 16:31 (The Message): Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life.

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