Monday, January 05, 2009

Purple hair days

Today’s Reading: John 18:37(NIV)

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Good morning!

Sometimes the truth rears its ugly head in the morning. I try really hard not to spend too much time in front of the mirror because it reveals things about myself I’d rather avoid. The mirror does not lie about my weight or my age or the fact that I am definitely sporting purple hair. How did that happen? I was trying to save a little money at the hairdressers, which should be a good thing in this New Year. Okay, so the gray turned pink and then it turned purple, but I thought last night, if I just went to bed and slept on it, that it might actually fade overnight. NOT! And now it is time to go to work and face the professional world with purple hair.

Well, I’m really not all that concerned about it. After all, I did help my boys color their hair every color of the rainbow when they played soccer in school. And our Rachel had a healthy green streak running the length of her beautiful blonde hair for several months when she was a teenager. It was a fashion statement. Here I am, at 50 years old, with purple hair. This just shouldn’t be happening.

Purple was my favorite color growing up. I loved wearing deep purple velvet dresses at Christmas, and I had a pretty lavender bedspread on my bed. Our parsonage bedroom is lavender, it’s such a soothing color. I now blend in well with the parsonage walls. Purple is the color of advent, the season of waiting. Purple is the color of lent, of repentance. I have a feeling I’m going to be doing a lot of waiting and repenting today. So, I guess purple hair is not such a bad deal for someone like me!

Sometimes the truth is hard to see. Pilate was doing his best to trip Jesus up in His testimony. Jesus made an unexpected verbal twist and placed the onus right back on the rich Roman ruler. Jesus came into the world to testify to the Truth. The people who longed for Truth above all else, chose to listen and obey. As a matter of fact, Jesus is the Truth, and even Pilate knew that, deep down inside.

It’s hard to hide purple hair from the world. I can see it plainly in the mirror and I’m certain it will be noticed by others. Maybe I should wear my red hat to work, just to accentuate my actual age. Some may believe it is not normal to have purple hair at age 50, but God continues to recreate a new normal in my heart each day. The truth is, without Him, I would be lost forever. He gave His life so that I could live free in Him, with or without purple hair. I have a feeling Jesus might actually like my purple hair, especially if I allow Him to use it as a living witness of His love for me. After all, He has never given up on me through the years. And even though I seem to be His problem child, Christ continually loves me still. The Father not only knows the number of hairs on my head, He also knows their natural color, which is something I’m not completely sure of these days. If He can love me with purple hair, He can love you too! And He does! God looks beyond the hair and sees the heart. I wonder if my heart is purple today.

I guess it could be worse – I could be bald! Thank you Lord, for purple hair days.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

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