Bright and early this morning I met a woman named Wanda. I met her through a poem she wrote in 2015; The Gift Wrap and the Jewel.
Wanda passed away in 2016, just shy of the age of 93. This woman, this legacy, made clear the focus I want to maintain for the next two, ten or twenty-five plus years.
Who is this woman that made an impact in my life? Meet Wanda B. Goines.
“The mother of a large family used her very rich – and very long! – life experience to teach us to look at the aging process with fresh eyes. And, in fact, to embrace it. ”
As I approach 63, I look in the mirror and want to iron out my wrinkles. Each morning I apply my choice essential oil blend to ease my aches and pains.
Wanda’s poem reads’ “I looked in the mirror and what did I see? But a little old lady peering back at me” I’m not quite the age of Wanda when she wrote the poem but…
Her poem goes on to remind me. “You’re looking at the gift wrap and not the jewel inside, a living gem, and precious of unimagined worth, unique and true, the real you, …So focus your attention on the inside, not the out. 
Ladies, does this mean you need to throw away the wrinkle cream or cancel your gym membership? No. But if you are anything like me, it’s much easier to focus on the outside than the inside. Society easily pressures us to focus on the outside, but tends to say little about the inside.
Wanda’s poem ends on the note of how and why we live. “being kinder, wiser, more content and more devout. Then when your gift wrap’s stripped away your jewel will be set free, to radiate God’s glory throughout eternity!
If you, like me, feel the young you slipping away, set your focus the inside. Practice being kinder and wiser, remember other’s before yourself and stay in God’s Word. Let the jewel inside you sparkle. Make an impact on the world around you. Create a legacy that outlasts your days on earth, so you can radiate God’s glory throughout eternity!
In Him,
Deb
Read the complete poem: The Gift Wrap and the Jewel
Grounded Living 