I Like You Just The Way You Are

The other day my daughter Alisa took out the camera and asked to take pictures of me.
I told her I wasn't camera ready - I needed to curl my hair and put on some make-up.
She said that she liked me just the way I am.
Alisa is 17 years old. I am 63. I thought she would be embarrassed to have such an old mother.
Instead she has taught me that when we truly love someone we accept them just the way they are.
We don't love others in spite of their weaknesses and mistakes; we love them because of them.
We fully accept them as they are - wrinkles and all - for we see the beauty of their soul.
We realize we are all striving to be better than we are. We are all worthy of love and belonging.

Aging is a beautiful process of learning how to deal with loss . . .
loss of children, career, worldly beauty, health and time left to be alive.

I'm so glad I'm not dead yet because I have so much to learn and so many people to love.
I want to keep learning, changing and growing throughout my entire life.

Life has been profoundly humbling for me.
I realize I don't have all the answers.
In the end I can choose to stay in the darkness or search for the light.
We do not come to grace. Grace comes to us.