"I can't believe I'm gonna be fifty-four years old tomorrow!" squealed Angie, as her cheeks felt like they were splitting from her smile. She looked around and checked out the sea of faces still pouring out of the church into the lobby, as she and Clara looked for a couple of available chairs.

"I've never seen anyone; especially a woman, express such joy approaching old age!" Clara remarked, as she sat down.

"Well.......That's nice of you to say," Angie replied.

"So tell me, how do you keep such a great attitude?"

"My faith...."The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;" Psalm 138.8 is one of my favorite Scriptures.... my faith makes me happier by the day, it seems. As I learn to lean on God in everything; I get stronger, more loving, more patient, kinder and more joyful and more peaceful and I even feel better in my own skin. I have plenty of grays coming in, but God has kindly placed them in the back of my head....hahaha, so I can't see them and I could tell you SO many OTHER things He's done for me, but I doubt we have the time....hahaha. Anyway, I don't feel old at all, nothing hurts and I still have plenty of energy... I don't know.....there are a lot of reasons, but probably my favorite one of all is that I'm a newlywed in my fifties!"

"Yeah and I remember you whispering before the service started that you've got yourself a great guy now, but I still find it amazing how you see things."

"Why, what do you mean?"

"Well, rather than focus on the fact that you were married to two guys, who ended up abusing you and now here you are married to a third guy... you sure do have a good attitude! And don't you ever feel like a failure or like people are judging you?"

"Absolutely not and as for people judging me, I just laugh to myself. I never let that stuff bother me and anyway, my marriage was a failure, but I wasn't."

"Excuse me, but how do you figure that?"

"Because I kept on doing what's right no matter what..... I don't have any regrets or guilt because I know in my heart that God didn't want me to die! When it's a matter of life or death, God DOESN'T expect us to stay just because we made a mistake and married the wrong guy or guys!" Angie replied; laughing again.

"Wow....I never thought of it that way before... I guess I get caught up too much in what people think," Clara replied.

"......I find it much better to just concern myself with what God thinks and I leave it up to Him to take care of other people. And as for getting old....the way I see it; age is JUST a number! If you take care of yourself and have a positive attitude, don't take yourself too seriously and live a clean and healthy lifestyle you can live and be young till WAY beyond what society would have you believe! People hear these messages coming at them all the time, on T.V. mostly, that youth is good and old age is bad and perfect LOOKS are like all that matters. The retailers and advertisers use those types of tactics to attract the younger buyers because they know they are the spenders.....I mean....if the older people were their target, advertising would be quite different. Don't let them dictate your happiness. Go to God and He will fill your needs. You can even go to Him about those emotional needs that involve the way you feel about yourself. He wants us to go to Him for everything that concerns us. If you're in a marriage He ordained, He'll even help you be a more than just satisfying partner; He'll actually help you achieve amazing fulfillment in the boodwah.... if you get my meaning," she replied in a low voice; sticking her elbow into Clara's side.

Clara laughed so hard, she almost fell off her chair.

"Hey do you and yours want to come to my big birthday bash my husband is throwing for me at the Alleypin Lounge tomorrow night?!" Angie asked; her eyes sparkling.

"Sure, I'll check with Bob and let you know," Clara replied, as she gave Angie a warm embrace.

The two women exchanged contact information and went their separate ways.

Later that day, when Bob got home from his golf game; Clara had a lot to tell him. "So who did you say this woman is?" he asked.

"She's a new friend.....just met her this morning," Clara replied.

Linzy has been writing for many years; seriously since her 3 kids were still young and inspirational. She has taken 2 courses in Bible studies and completed "Four Soils" Bible study course in a 26-month period; earning her certification in Bible Counselling.