Souls Don’t Wrinkle
Guest Post by Isabel Anders
Dorothy L. Sayers, mystery writer of the Peter Wimsey series, once commented that “Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.” As an older woman myself, I feel I’m beginning to appreciate the advantages of shedding excess baggage: pride of looks, saving “face,” the avoidance of appearing “foolish.” It’s true—after a full life we’re less likely to allow these considerations to stand in the way of our remaining hopes and dreams.
British Miss Marples
Look at Sarah, the wife of Abraham, who in her old age made her husband a “father of many nations” through late (impossible?) childbirth—though first she laughed at the suggestion. In the New Testament we find Elizabeth (Luke 1), another wife too old for childbearing who nonetheless carries to term John the Baptist, Christ’s forerunner. Though their part in the narratives seems to be primarily acceptance—older women definitely matter. We sometimes forget how much.
Psalm 92: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree. … In old age they still produce fruit.” And in the intertestamental book of Sirach: “Watch for the opportune time, and beware of evil, and do not be ashamed to be yourself.” Even if it includes encroaching gray hair, a slower gait, and definite laugh lines? “For there is a shame that leads to sin, and there is a ‘shame’ that is glory and favor” (4:20-21). Admitting we’re at a disadvantage—being older in a world that favors youth and appearance—is simply facing reality.
Remember, Sarah laughed.
Obviously it WOULD be a shame for us women of a certain age to waste our expertise, to hide the hard-won scars of battles survived, or to forfeit the right to speak out and help others avoid pitfalls—if we have the means to do so.
Some may picture Lady Wisdom—Sophia—as a stunning goddess with a scepter that merely touches to make one wise. But I’m more inclined to see her with a few well-earned wrinkles, wearing nondescript clothes and clutching a large overstuffed handbag full of homespun remedies. In short, to me she’s a sort of Mother Teresa/Miss Marple composite with one foot each in the best of two worlds.
Despite their outward demeanor, what these wonderful older women have taught us is simple: souls don’t wrinkle. It’s a spiritual principle in itself. When I was researching my book Miss Marple: Christian Sleuth, I couldn’t help noting this elderly fictional heroine’s similarity to other save-the-day figures. With a twist.
Isabel Anders