I woke up today with a crease in my face! I’m not talking about those little lines that have taken up permanent residence around my eyes and in my cheeks whenever I smile. Today I am referring to a conspicuous vertical line that stretched from the top of my forehead through my eyebrow and ended somewhere near my eyelid. The kind of line that only occurs when you are so deep in sleep you don’t even notice you’ve folded your face on top of itself and have laid in that singular position long enough to create a canyon-like indentation. Yes, distinctly creased like a freshly-pressed men’s shirt.
Thankfully, this kind of thing doesn’t occur frequently to me and I realize that it can happen to anyone at any age. But the disconcerting part about this particular facial groove was that it took forever to disappear! This is what comes of wearing 60-year-old skin. That youthful elasticity is a thing of the past and it just doesn’t bounce back the way it used to. These days, once my skin assumes a position, it takes a lot of time and a bit of coaxing to set it right again. Just one of the many wonders of aging, I guess.
Truth is, with the exception of the necessary moments in front of the mirror this morning, my folded face gave me very little difficulty. By the time I had fully dressed, eaten my breakfast and had my prayer time, it was pretty much back to normal. But as I thought about that stubborn crease later in the day, it made me wonder if I’m losing resiliency in other areas of my life as well—areas that go far deeper than my skin—areas that make up my true character.
I think most of us are people of patterns. Intentionally or not, we develop ways of doing things that bring us some kind of satisfaction, even if just momentarily. And when they do, we repeat them, over and over, pressing those behaviors into place. Before we know it, patterns are formed—sometimes, very definitely-creased patterns. Of course, this can be great if what we’re doing is positive, like maintaining a daily exercise program or picking up the messes we make. What we have to guard against are the negative patterns we fall into that can quickly turn into deep ruts. Have we developed a pattern of impatience with our spouse or children? Have we allowed junk food to creep into our daily diet? Have we let our prayer life slip away in favor of social media? If we aren’t intentionally addressing these undesirable patterns, then, much like the crease in my morning face, we may find ourselves having a difficult time recovering from them.
My life is full of folds and creases. I want to make sure what gets pressed securely in place lines up with what God would want to add steam to. Anything less deserves a good spritzing and a hot iron. It’s good to notice where a new crease is forming. And sometimes we have to take a good look in the mirror to do just that.
“…but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22