last sunday I talked to a young woman

Last Sunday I talked to a young woman. This is not all that unusual for a pastor, but what was unusual was that this woman was in her 80’s. She is diminishing in mental capacity, stooped over, her hands are shaking.

I leaned over, like I do sometimes. Since I am 6’3”, and she was about 4’something, I had to bend down a ways. She couldn’t really look up.

I said, Hi, pretty girl. She looked behind her and said, I don’t think you are talking to me and she smiled. When she did, she was young.

We bantered a bit. As we did, it dawned on me how the young woman looked and sounded. Even though she was old, she was suddenly young and talking to a man.

When I was young, probably in my mid 20’s, a friend and I went to visit an old man and his wife. She was in the far stages of what we called senility at the time. She knew nothing of anything. He had her sitting beside him in her chair, but there was no communication.

As he and we were talking, he said, I know my wife is older, but when I look at her, I still see the young woman I married.

My first thought was, you are crazy old man. That woman looks like an old, brain dead woman. Remember I was young.

As I get older, I realize he was right. My wife looks the same to me most of the time. There are times like today, when she worked too hard and was having problems. At those times she looks tired and drawn.

But she still looks like Ella, my wife. And I love her. To young people, she is an older woman. But to me, she is my love and eternally young.

The woman I talked to last Sunday, for a few moments, was young again, almost coquettish. I enjoyed making her acquaintance, if not for just a brief time.

I look forward to it again.