Out of the clear blue I came across it. I can honestly say I did not set my mind on finding it nor was I really looking for it, but there it was. You can imagine my surprise in making such a discovery. In the rush of things I almost overlooked it, like a family carelessly discarding toys and clothes held long past their usefulness or a hurried business man overlooking an appointment.
I fully expected a day like this would come, a day that placed me among the historical greats, the likes of Einstein, Twain, Mozart, Washington, Von Braun, the Apostle Paul, even Moses and Abraham. A day when such a discover might do little to change the course of human events—I doubt you felt the slightest tremble from the shock wave—but a day that changes the psyche of a person for ever.
To tell you the truth, it remains such a small thing that with its single discovery I suspect I will encounter many more in the years ahead. One only hopes that this find remains rare and minute, but as the saying goes, “If there is one thing worse than being an ugly duckling in a house of swans, it's having the swans pretend there's no difference.” I really have no idea how that applies other than that my ugly duckling is a grey hair.
Oh sure, I know you’re thinking what a silly commotion I’ve made about a single grey hair, but somehow that one hair brings about a passage that until now I was not ready to trod. Some place deep inside I always associated grey hair as a loss of my youth. Yes, I still think of myself as that buff and carefree teenager who had all of life before him. I suppose the soon to be three children, dissertation project, monthly bills and twentieth class reunion should have dismissed that notion long ago. But a person can still dream, can’t he?
Typically, we associate grey hair with knowledge, wisdom, experience, maturity, and longevity. However, I’ve known a few young people with grey hair and at the time of their acquaintance, I did not associate those terms to their lives. One fellow student I knew in college, the same age as me, had a head full of prematurely grayed hair. There was something out-of-place looking at a young man with grey hair, knowing that he acted less stately than outward appearance conveyed.
Proverbs typically attributes age with wisdom. “The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old,” (Pro. 20:29) or “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life” (Prov. 16:31). I would like to think my single grey hair can be associated with a righteous life, but then again it does not say much for the depth of my righteousness now does it? And, like you, I’ve met some people that disprove that proverb because some people with grey hair act anything but godly.
Wouldn’t it be easier to know people’s true lives by their outward appearance? Grey hair for the truly righteous, extra long noses for the repetitive liars, and so forth. Allas, scarce a soul would venture out in public if that were the case. Sometimes we can judge a person’s character by merely looking, but we all need to remember that God does not judge by the same outwardly standards as people do, God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
For now, I am thankful that one hair decided to turn grey. It at least it has the fortitude to remain connected unlike some other hairs I’ve known in the past. As for the heart, I am also glad God’s not done with me yet. There is still plenty of room for improvements.
I look forward to seeing you in the spiritually maturing place on Sunday,
Travis
