Recently, while sitting in the reception area of a doctor's office, I noticed a book of photos lying on the table next to me. I picked it up and began to leaf through the pages, giving each photo a quick glance until one particular photograph caught my eye. It was a picture of four elderly women.

I sat there, gazing at the picture, studying the faces of those four women who appeared to be in their 80's or possibly their 90's. The photo itself looked to be rather old. Who were they...sisters, friends? What had their lives been like? Who loved and had been loved by these women, and what did they share of themselves, in this photograph, with me?

The beauty of their youth had faded away, but left in its place was something more endearing and genuine. Etched in their faces was the beauty of grace and wisdom, placed there by the lessons and experiences of a long life.

In that photograph, those four women gave me the gift of their smiles, the gentleness of their expressions, and a brief moment of their time on this earth.

Linda S. Montgomery

January 24, 2010