A Glory Bestowed

My post-secondary education was erratic. I “went back to school” several times before I was able to finish my undergraduate degree. I didn’t plan it that way. I went to university immediately after high school with the clear goal of being a high school History teacher. You may wonder what happened to that goal – and someday I’ll tell that story. But today I want to talk about my experience returning to university as a “mature” student.

My Family in 1990:
In 1990, I was living in Edmonton and all my children were in school full-time, with the youngest one being 8. After all the education I had taken, I still had two senior English courses to complete my undergraduate degree. I decided to enroll at the U of A to see if I could finish what I had started so long ago. I found a suitable course in Children’s Literature. I was a couple of decades older than anyone else in my class. One day an incident woke me up to how I might be perceived by my classmates.
The class had been assigned to read Hatchet , a wonderful book for preteens. That day the prof divided the class into small groups with the idea that each group would report on a particular chapter of the book. This was a common technique he used, and within the groups we all knew when it was our turn to report. On this day the prof was very cross and critical. It seemed that he was not pleased with anyone’s report. It so happened that it was my turn to report for my group. While we waited one of the girls turned to me and said, “I can do this report, if you like.” I replied, “No, it’s my turn, I don’t mind.” A few minutes later, she again said,” No really, I can do this for you.” She seemed quite anxious. Perhaps she noticed that I didn’t have anything written down. But again, I affirmed my willingness to report. Then a light bulb went off over my head. I realized that she didn’t think that I could do this! Perhaps she was worried I would embarrass myself and the group. When she looked at me she couldn’t know the hundreds of times I had spoken in public since I was in grade four. She just saw someone she thought was over the hill.
When my turn came, I stood to my feet, gave my report and sat down. The room was silent. Then the prof said, “People, that’s what I want to hear!” I have to admit that it was one of those moments that you want to savor. I felt I struck a blow for middle-aged women everywhere!
In our youth oriented society some people lack respect for older women. When they see our grey hair and crow’s feet, they don’t see a person who has a depth of life experience to draw from. They see someone whose “best before” date has expired. And the worst part is that we sometimes believe that ourselves. No wonder we're lining up for dye jobs and botox. But we have been made in the image of God, and that doesn’t diminish as we age. We can always bring the best of ourselves into any situation if we remember that we have a "glory bestowed". Nelson Mandela said, “We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us…And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” I must not buy into the idea that I'm past my prime, my contribution to the world is at an end. No. Let me unveil the glory bestowed.