For many women, one of the greatest fears is: we’re not getting any younger. We can no longer do what we once did, and we certainly don’t look the way we used to.

But the Word of God brings comfort—and with it, a sacred mystery.

There is no wisdom without the golden years gathered behind us. Just as no tree bears fruit before its budding season, we too must journey through the quiet seasons before fruit appears.

In our youth, we bloom with beauty, but it is in the rings of age that we are crowned with wisdom and adorned with fruit.

We age with laughter lines and smile creases. The clock of time becomes the measure of our growth, and we sigh under the weight of age, of loneliness, and distant memories.

And yet—there is a nobility in growth. In the time it takes to become. Maturity carries an elegance all its own. A quiet crown of wisdom that only time can bestow. (Proverbs 4:9)

So let us not lose heart when our outer beauty fades into soft reflection, because the most beautiful fruit often ripens long after the blossom has fallen.

Author Lezl Potgieter