Senescence

 “Oh God!  I don’t want to be tired again today!”  

This has become my lament as I stumble out of bed some mornings, my body still carrying the fatigue I went to bed with, seemingly un-phased by eight hours of rest.  How is this possible?  I drag myself into the bathroom stiff from lying still overnight.  Starring into the mirror, the face that looks back at me is exhausted and frazzled.  My hair is twisted in new directions, my eczema is flaring up on both elbows, and the bags under my eyes are epic.  

What’s happening to me?  Where has the stamina gone that I enjoyed ten years ago? Why do I find myself squirming when I sit down, trying to find “just the right spot” to alleviate the dull ache that is lingering in my back?   I’m 28!  This shouldn’t be happening!  

My body is not the tent I was hoping to be living in as a young adult….

 ….Sometimes this disappointment has brought me to tears.

The reality of our senescence can be cruel.

Do you ever look in the mirror and find yourself discouraged by what you see:

Thinning hair
Flabby tummy
Wrinkling skin
Excess weight
Fatigue
Pain
Something else?  

When you look in the mirror are you motivated to start your day, or do you wonder if you would be doing the world a favor if you ran back and hid under the covers for an extra hour or two?

In wrestling with these thoughts, I have been comforted by what Paul has to say in 2 Corinthians 4.  I thought about trying to paraphrase his words, but they are beautiful on their own, and have become my prayer:

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart!
 Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
 ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror
NIV Scripture from biblegateway.com