I saw the most beautiful woman the other day. She wasn’t that tall. She was 5 feet at the most. Her spine was curved down too. Her skin was thin and covered in age spots from a lifetime of walking in the sun. Her hair was a thin, wispy white. Her smile had as many false teeth as new ones. She was at least 80 years old and may have been over 90. She moved slowly and with great care. Still, when she looked you in the eye and spoke to you, you could see her true beauty shining through.

Her forehead was wrinkled from a long life of hard work and care. But it was the lines around her eyes that caught my attention. These “wrinkles” were deep and permanent canyons that had been formed by a million smiles and a lifetime of laughter. Her eyes were deep set, bloodshot and hidden behind thick, heavy glasses. But you could still see a lovely light shining out of them. When she talked to you they sparkled with a divine radiance that told you she was in touch with faith and love and hope and goodness and joy. I only spoke to her for a minute or two, yet I left feeling better, happier, and closer to God myself. I only hope that one day my own face will show the signs that her’s did, of a blessed life well-lived and well-loved.

It is so strange how people these days are almost obsessed with doing away with those signs. We want to look twenty years old forever. People dye their hair, put cream on their skin, apply makeup to their faces, stick needles full of Botox into themselves, and even have plastic surgery all in an effort to hide the evidence of a life filled with kindness, laughter, and love.

The next time I look in the mirror, though, I am going to thank God for my wrinkles, gray hair, and the sparkle in my eyes. I am going to appreciate the evidence of a million smiles and pray to God to let them get deeper as I live longer and love better each day of my life.