The Spirit Within

“Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.”  David Bowe.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  John 3:6

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”.  Galatians 5:22-23

Today I have had a series of conversations by text and by phone with two very special women in my life.  In the first conversation, my sister-in-law and I were texting selfies where we were both comparing different aspects about our appearances.  I had found a box hair color (thank you L’Oréal!) that did an amazing job of covering my gray hair and my sister-in-law has recently lost thirty pounds.  This exchange turned into a conversation about love.  My sister-in-law has struggled with boundary issues all her life because as she put it “she was desperate for love” after a difficult childhood. As a consequence, in the past she has suppressed her own needs always being in the position of giving, until finally her emotions explode.  I on the other hand, was raised in a military family and was taught discipline, the need for self-control and proper appearances, and the importance of not making mistakes.  As a result, I was always critical of myself, never feeling I was perfect enough to be loved.

As the conversation progressed from sharing photos, talking hair color and weight, and our mistakes in love, we both came to the same conclusion.  When we learned later on in life that God is love and when we put our faith in God, we gradually began to grow past our insecurities.   What I love about my sister-in-law is that she has the most beautiful way of bringing up a Bible verse when we are talking.   This time, I sent her the quote by David Bowe I had just found on Pinterest, “Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.”  We both agreed our lives have been evolution and knew our choices and responses would have been wiser in our youth if we had been the person we are now.

Next I talked to on the phone to my cousin’s wife who is a devoted prayer warrior.  We too, have the most amazing conversations about God, family, life, love, heartbreak and challenges.  I shared David Bowe’s quote and her response was that she saw her life as a series of encounters led by God to prepare for the next battle, her core compassion always present.   This conversation made me think more deeply about the essence of David Bowe’s quote.  As I have aged, I have grown in patience and thoughtfulness which are fruit of the Holy Spirit that I lacked within my younger self.  I am now the person I should have been because the Holy Spirit is present within me as a result my life experiences and my faith in God.  And because my soul has grown within nurtured by the Holy Spirit, so has the depth and contribution of my human gifts.   So perhaps one could say, “Aging is an extraordinary journey where God awakens the spirit and soul within and therefore the person that God always intended you to be.”