The next time you wake in the morning and shuffle into the bathroom to stare at your reflection in the mirror, can I invite you to ignore the extra flesh and the new gray hairs and the soft tummy with silvery lines and even the fine crow’s feet? And instead, will you zoom in very, very close and notice your eyes?

Notice their color—the little flecks of black and brown, the bit of gold rimming your jet-black pupils, the swirls of blue or brown or turquoise and green like the marble from your childhood treasure box.

Now, will you stare into your eyes for just a little while?

And will you realize that nothing about your eyes has changed? Nothing. These are the very same little eyes that waltzed into first grade and sparkled with pride as a tale burst forth for your teacher and classmates about the tooth that came out in a Starburst over the weekend. The same eyes that watched her first fireworks show with wonder and awe as those dazzling colors lit up the night sky. The same eyes that cried into a pillow with heartbreak and shame over another one of life’s awful, uncontrollable tragedies. The same awestruck eyes that possibly beheld her very own little child.

Now, will you try something else? Will you say to the younger version of you peeking out from behind those very same rich brown or green-hazel eyes…

“Look honey. I know it hasn’t been perfect. Life is hard, and I’m so sorry. I’m sorry much of it hasn’t gone as you hoped. But I’m here. And I love you. I do. You will always have me. I’m going to do the best job I know how to do to take care of you. And all we have to do right now is this one day. That’s it. Maybe we can start with a glass of water.”

Will you take a moment to remember?

This is YOU looking back at you—the you you’ve been from the very beginning and ever more shall be, the beloved soul created by our Creator on purpose, with purpose, for a purpose, the woman treasured and adored by God before your first microscopic cells began to divide.

Today, may you simply LOVE her well.

I’d love to share my new book with you!! Everything I Wish I Could Tell You About Midlife: A Woman’s Guide to Health in the Body You Actually Have