Wife Of My Youth

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. -- Proverbs 5:18 NIV

Have you ever sat down and gone through some old pictures, maybe that time when you cleaned out your attic and found a couple of shoe boxes full of them, and found pictures of you at younger ages or maybe some pictures of your wedding day? Isn't it amazing how we can still look like us but look so different today than we did back then? I know I've seen pictures of my parents with some extremely goofy hairstyles and looking back at my younger pictures it's plain to see that I followed suit. Now, I don't have much hair to worry about anymore and maybe that's the goofiest look of all!

But those times were our youth. We had so much life in front of us. The possibilities were endless! Then you "grow up" and the responsibilities seem to mount faster than they can be tackled. You hit 35 and you suddenly don't have endless amounts of energy anymore. You hit 40 and things start to hurt for no apparent reason at all. I can't even fathom what's going to happen as I hit 45 and 50 and then beyond (Lord willing). When life starts doing it's best to take it's toll on us it gets harder and harder to remember what it was like to be young and full of optimism, isn't it?

To go one step further, how can those of us who believe in Jesus and have our salvation in hand do what we're called to do if we're constantly weighed down by responsibility and walking like we're stuck in the mud? We're supposed to be exemplifying the life of Jesus with our words and our actions, but to look at many of us it gets harder and harder to see Jesus in us the older and less vital we get.

We need to remember the gift we have so graciously received from Jesus! We need to recapture the exuberance of our youth. We're still the same people (some of us with far less hair!) that we were in our younger days. Don't the little aches and pains bleed into your attitude. Instead, show the world that no matter what physical limitations befall you, Jesus is your energy source and He is endless. Because of Him your fountain is blessed and you are eternally youthful in spirit!

Those of you who aren't married, remember what you are about to read when you have a spouse someday. The wife (or husband) of your youth is still there. God put you together and created something new. Something that isn't meant to be broken. Don't let anything block your memories of how in love you were on your wedding day. Your love will only grow deeper over time if you do, and there is nothing a few extra pounds, a bunch of gray hair, or any amount of worldly influence can do about it.