Skin Deep

Beauty. It's been on my mind since last week when I saw this elderly woman in Tim Horton's who glowed. I was people watching while Coen was finishing his lunch. As I sipped my coffee I noticed this woman. I imagine her to be in her early seventies. An age where most physical beauty has waned quite a bit. There are wrinkles and grey hairs and extra skin in places that you've never imagined it could be, but here was this lady, dressed simply in a turtle neck covered by a blue flannel shirt, with jeans and hiking boots. But it was her face that captured my attention. Time had etched lines there but there was so much beauty there too. Her skin seemed to radiate. Her cheeks were rosy and her mouth smiled. Her eyes twinkled when she spoke to her friend. There was something about this woman that captivated me. She knows some secret to beauty that I believe, though I don't know for sure, came from within her and was unmistakable in her countenance.

People spend so much time, money and effort to enhance and retain physical beauty. Beauty has been marketed and exploited. When I think of this elderly lady though with her silvery braid flung over her shoulder and her sparkliness lighting up Tim Horton's, I think she has something that money could never buy. It's the beauty that starts on the inside and works it's way out. I have no way of knowing her story, but I think like most people she has seen a life full of joys and struggles, laughter and tears. That's just how life is. She has most likely loved and felt the pain of loss. She most likely has experienced dreams fulfilled and hopes that have turned to disappointments. But throughout the course of her life, something has been refined in her and it shows on her face. There is beauty in her.

After watching this lady for awhile, I started looking around at the other women sitting there eating lunch, sipping coffee, and talking with friends. I can honestly say that I didn't see the same kind of beauty reflected in anyone else in that whole place. There may have been people there that were better dressed and looked more put together, more in shape, more stylish, more Botoxed, or with more make-up on their face, but none with as much beauty.

This kind of beauty is deep, deeper than skin. It comes from being content, even when things are crazy. It comes from having peace that holds fast when nothing makes sense. This beauty is full of joy and is always ready to share laughter. This beauty walks with others through their pain and weeps even though it causes wrinkles. This beauty is full of passion and compassion. It is a beauty that acts and is felt. This beauty speaks to the destiny that is in each of us. This beauty unlocks the potential inside of us. It is real. It is something we choose. It is something that takes more attention than the skin routine you do at bedtime. It takes more time than the hours you put in at the gym. It takes more investment than the products that line the shelves in your bathroom. It takes your life. This is the beauty to be coveted.