Minister Marion Hall blooming at 57 - Celebrated her birthday quietly on Sunday

At an age when many chase after potions and products that they think will keep them looking like they drink from the fountain of youth, Minister Marion Hall is not concerned about the maintenance of a beauty regimen. She is confident that the God that has always sustained her, plus the genetic components she inherited from both her parents, are the contributing factors as to why she continues to age like fine wine despite making no obvious attempt to keep up appearances.
As she reflects on being a veteran in the music industry and turning all of 57, Minister Hall told The Gleaner that embracing a clean, healthy life dedicated to God is just about all the righteous routine that she needs to stay youthful in Christ. 
“I’m 57 feeling like I’m 30, and I’m so grateful because I don’t have any arthritis, no knee or back problems, and no sickness. It is such a blessing because a lot of times I see people who are younger than I am and they have serious challenges with their health. They have issues with walking and end up needing all kinds of surgeries, etc, and so I’m grateful to be here, illness-free,” Minister Hall said.
She emphasised that her birthday, which was on Sunday, was not a time to party but rather one for quiet reflection on a life that has been well lived. 
“I was just sitting with a friend and recalling how good my life has been. I’m not a person who seeks the limelight or flamboyance. I wanted my actual birthday to be a quiet day with the Lord whom I celebrate because it is the day that the Lord hath made, and so I am rejoicing because the Lord has kept me going,” the music minster said.
Continuing her reflection, the former Lady Saw added that she could have been dead many times and recounted being involved in an accident when I was much younger.
“[I] was maybe around 22. The injuries caused me to be unconscious until I woke up in the hospital and realised where I was. This was when I was a young artiste in Jamaica. We had driven from Kingston to Westmoreland, working with a sound system, and we had an accident. I remember being pulled from the wreck, and there was a lot of glass, and as they’re pulling me, I could hear voices around me but couldn’t say who was talking, but God wasn’t done with me yet,” said the minister who was baptised a decade ago.
Looking youthful at 57, she shared, is more about her DNA than any diet. 
“Can I tell you I don’t do anything special or use anything special. People ask me all the time, ‘What do you use on your face?’ I say nothing. I just wash my face regular. Soap and water. People complement me on my skin, and I tell them that it’s just the glow and glory of God. It’s the light of the Lord that is on me and within me.”
No designated beauty routine, she stated, is followed up with no designated work-out plan or special diet sheet. 
“I never watch my diet. If I join the gym, I only go two days and nuh bada go back so a plenty money me waste ‘cause a nuh lickle gym me join over the years. But I guess I have good genes from my mom and dad as they always looked young and fresh, even as they aged ... apple nuh fall far from the tree,” Hall explained.
A woman who eats whatever she wants, her diet is simple.
“I eat rice, and me love bread. Me, basically, nyam everything ... and I’m getting a belly right yah now, but I will walk it off by walking round the neighbourhood when I’m ready.”
nicola.cunningham@gleanerjm.com