A Hairy Question

Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

A few weeks ago I was listening to one of my favorite radio stations and heard the DJs two men and a woman, talking about a survey that the woman had read. The question asked was this, “If you could have perfect hair for the rest of your life, perfect hair, but you had to give up ten IQ points, would you do it?” My first thought was, uh, YES! All of my life I’ve had baby fine hair, the natural color of which is best described as mousy brown. Add to that the fact that my nearest and dearest friends were/are Greek and Italian with the accompanying big fat beautiful, flowing, darkly luxurious hair. Can see why I have hair issues? My IQ is pretty decent.  So, yes, I would trade.

The next day I was telling two of my friends about it. Mostly, to get their reaction. They both have really nice hair. Their reactions were very different. One said yes, strange because to me, she has great hair. The other said no and I was quick to point out that she doesn’t need the trade. She was quick to tell me her hair woes. Awe gee, cry me a river. I did not feel sorry for her and her thick hair. A few days later both women’s answers would factor into my thinking.

While attempting to “style” my hair I thought about that conversation. I thought of my two friends. I thought about how we see ourselves. My one friend said she wouldn’t make the trade but it wasn’t because she’s content with her hair, it was because she didn’t want to give up her IQ points. The other one, without concern for her IQ, said yes, she’d trade. That made me wonder, what wouldn’t I trade for better hair? Tons of things came to mind. Hair, as it turns out, isn’t nearly as important as I let myself think it is.

That took me into deeper introspection. What is that important? Important enough to make bargains and deals? Not much. When I thought about the “things” in my life I came back more and more to people. I’m a people person so relationships are important to me. That brought me to the Truth.

As long as I have the love of God, the presence of the Trinity, in my life then I have everything I need. Oh, I want things, don’t misunderstand, I’m not ready to live off the land, just me and Jesus. I like being comfortable, living indoors, eating on a regular basis, books, music, etc. The detail that really made my breath catch was the idea of giving up people. I did however realize that no matter how heartbreakingly terrifying it is to think of being without certain people in my life, the one thing I absolutely cannot consider losing is my relationship with Jesus. Life flows from Him, everything I have, do, say or am, is because He is gracious.

Hair, whatever! The oddest thing, I’m fairly sure my hair has not improved. I’m a middle-aged woman so that is extremely unlikely and yet, it looks okay. I’m okay with it. Somehow after all this IQ business and would you, wouldn’t you conversations, the truth is it just doesn’t matter. The truth is, only one thing does really matter and that is Jesus.