Souls Dont Wrinkle Upbeat Spirituality for Women of a Certain Age Dorothy L.

Sayers, mystery writer of the Peter Wimsey series, once commented that Time and trouble will tame an advanced youn woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.! " am not there! yet#"m still tamable, $ersuadable, not yet an unleashed, unsto$$able bolt out of the blue hurtlin toward a cherished tar et. %ot &uite. 'ut as " advance in years "m be innin to understand the stren th of sheddin e(cess ba a e) $ride of looks, savin face,! the avoidance of lookin foolish.! "m convinced that chan in our si hts can make way for other, more im$ortant $ur$oses and races for us women in our later years. What has sur$rised me most is how this modulation in values is su$$orted by my *hristian tradition. We have, as an e(am$le in the +ld Testament, Sarah the wife of ,braham, who in her old a e made her husband a father of many nations! throu h late -im$ossible./ childbirth. Thou h first she lau hed at the su estion. ,nd then in the %ew Testament we find 0li1abeth -Luke 2/, another wife too old for childbearin who nonetheless carries to term 3ohn the 'a$tist#he who becomes the forerunner of *hrist. +lder women definitely matter. We sometimes for et how much. 'ut in my research on this sub4ect, " have found the most a$$licable commentary within the Wisdom tradition#$rinci$les about the values that $ersist in old a e. 5or instance, in Psalm 67) The ri hteous flourish like the $alm tree. ... "n old a e they still $roduce fruit.! ,nd in the intertestamental book of Sirach) Watch for the o$$ortune time, and beware of evil, and do not be ashamed to be yourself.! 0ven if it includes encroachin ray hair, a slower ait, and definite

lau h lines. 5or there is a shame that leads to sin, and there is a shame that is lory and favor! -8)79:72/. ,dmittin were at a disadvanta e#bein older in a world that overvalues surface a$$earances#is sim$ly facin reality. ;emember, Sarah lau hed. +bviously it W+<LD be a shame for us women of a certain a e to waste our e($ertise, to hide the hard:won scars of battles survived, and to forfeit the ri ht to s$eak out and hel$ others avoid $itfalls#if we have the means to do so. Some may $icture Lady Wisdom#So$hia#as a stunnin oddess with a sce$ter that merely touches to make one wise. 'ut after my recent study "m more inclined to see her with a few well:earned wrinkles, wearin nondescri$t clothes and clutchin a lar e overstuffed handba full of homes$un remedies. "n short, to me shes a sort of =other Teresa>=iss =ar$le combo with one foot each in the best of two worlds. Des$ite outward im$ressions, what these wonderful older women have tau ht us is sim$le) souls dont wrinkle. When " was researchin my book Miss Marple: C ristian Sleut ! " couldnt hel$ seein this elderly heroines similarity to other save:the: day fi ures. With a twist. What is it about the old lady with a sweet, $lacid, s$insterish face! that strikes such a chord of reco nition in us. Perha$s it is sim$ly the reali1ation that the least likely $erson in the room holds the key to the most entan led mystery#the one that others have failed to solve. ,nd woe to those who try to tame or sto$ her. Similar to *. S. Lewis character of ,slan in his %arnia series, who, it is $ointed out, is not a tame! lion#=iss =ar$le herself mi ht be enteel, soft:s$oken, self: contained, and a $ro$er 0n lish entlewoman. 'ut as , atha *hristies stories about her so cunnin ly reveal, she is far from safe.! ,s =iss =ar$les housekee$er *herry comments in the novel

"emesis: ,nyone would think you were entle as a lamb. 'ut theres times " could say youd behave like a lion ? ! if the circumstances called for it. Do " look forward to lettin loose and $ersonally 1in in like an arrow toward the bulls eye of my late:life destiny. " think "ll take it a day at a time. 'ut it could be worse. Thou h these are hu e ste$s to follow in, readin about my untamable women mentors is both meanin ful and en4oyable -read or reread *hristies twelve =ar$le novels and twenty short stories and youll see/. Souls dont wrinkle#and our lau h lines tell the world weve already been havin $lenty of fun. "sabel ,nders is the author of Miss Marple: C ristian Sleut and Spinning Straw! Wea#ing $old! as well as other ins$irational titles.