Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Of God and Hair

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“Cut off your hair and cast it away…”
Jeremiah 7:29

I case you haven’t already seen or heard, I am now hairless.  I am not bald, my hair is actively growing, but I am clean shaven.  No, I did not lose a bet, and no, I am not sick.  I have been cast as Daddy Warbucks in our community theater production of Annie (showing June 18-20 and 25-27).  When I auditioned for the part I was asked repeatedly, “Are you willing to shave your head?”  “Of course,” I casually responded, “it’s just hair.  It will grow back.”

I never really considered just how attached to my hair I really was.  When I catch my reflection in passing, I have to stop and remember that that’s me looking back.  My three year old son (who got to help shave my head), is scared of me and having frequent nightmares about hairless monsters.  My one year old points and laughs.  My wife says she still loves me, but she won’t look at me when we talk.  I have discovered a newfound sense of anonymity.  No one recognized me in the coffee shop this morning.  I could get away with a lot right now.

I don’t think this look will last.  For starters, I don’t like having to shave the head every morning.  I hate shaving enough as it is; now I’ve tripled the amount of shaving I have to do.  I can’t seem to get the shave close and even; there are sections that are shiny, then others that feel like a brillo pad.  When I try to pull my shirt off over my head, it’s like Velcro.  Add to that the fact that all the ladies in the church keep talking about “all that beautiful hair,” I think I’ll have to let it grow back in.

I made sure that the hair went for a good cause though.  I wasn’t satisfied with just shaving for the sake of the play, if I was going to lose my hair, it was going for a good cause.  The hair wasn’t long enough for locks of love, but with the help of the church and friends in the community, I was able to raise nearly $500 for Relay for Life.

Until now, I never realized how many Scripture passages refer to hair.  There are almost 80 verses in the Bible, but I wanted to pull out just a few (pun completely intended).

  • Proverbs 16:31 “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”  We idolize youth today, and perhaps this is seen most vividly in the ways we try to hide our age.  From cosmetic surgery to reverse the signs of aging, to coloring away the gray, we fight to deny our age.  Gray hair is seen as a sign of weakness and infirmity by our culture, but what it really shows is dignity and splendor, representing experience, maturity, wisdom, and holiness.  In full disclosure, I have been warned that when my hair grows in, it may come in gray, but it was already heading that direction, so I say, “embrace it.”
  • Luke 12:7 “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  This is absolutely amazing!  The great God of the universe, the Author of all creation, the One who provides the rain and the sun for the fields, and who cloths the birds with beauty and gives them a song, is so concerned with my life that He even knows the number of hairs on your head.  Why should I worry about anything?
  • Luke 21:18 “But not a hair of your head will perish.”  The Heidelberg Catechism teaches that Christ “protects me so well that without the will of the Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head…”  Such is the sovereign hand of God that, while I may suffer the slings and arrows of those who oppose the gospel, though I may even be delivered up by those closest to me, my life is secure in Him.  The psalmist says “I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23:4).  Watching my hair blow away in the wind, I knew that even still, God holds me in His hands.

So let me apologize in advance for those of you who will be blinded by the glare in church on Sunday.  I’d love to say that I am, like Moses, reflecting the glory of the Lord, but that might be a stretch.  I’ll understand if you wear your sunglasses.

Now, anyone got any sunscreen?

Anxiously Awaiting the Doctor

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Please note – this is a break from my usual “Faith and Practice” type blog.  Today is kind of a special day for me: I get to watch the first episode of a new season of Doctor Who.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Doctor, let me just say – this is one of the best shows ever made for TV.  It’s about a Time Lord, The Doctor, who can travel through time and space, saving the universe from emminent disaster.  Its from BBC, and I grew up watching it with my dad on PBS.  The show started in 1967, but my years with the Doctor were in the 80’s, with Tom Baker and Peter Davidson as the Doctor (the Doctor “regenerates” when they change actors).  The special effects were horrible (with the exception of Castrovalva), but the writing was superb.

 In 2004 BBC started remaking the series, with great success.  Now the special effects are equal with the writing, and the show is a lot of fun.  After a rather long haitus after the end of season 4, season 5 has officially started with a new Producer and a new actor (Matt Smith).  Unfortunately for me, the show is no longer on the SyFy channel, and I don’t get BBC America, so now I have to wait to download it on iTunes.

Here I sit, ready to watch the show – and I’ve got just a couple of hopes for the new season:

  • Less running, more story – Is it just me, or did it seem like they ran out of things to write for “The End of Time (Parts 1 & 2)”, so to fill time, they just had David Tennant run… grimmace… run… grimmace some more… then run again?  I love Tennant, though he brought the Doctor great new depth and emotion – but why waste such a fantastic actor on running and grimmacing?  I want to be wowed with the Doctor’s intellect – I’d even except the “timey-wimey” stuff from “Blink”, but running?  I can run, I don’t need to see DT do it.
  • Stop bringing back old companions – Rose, I admit, was hot!  But did she have to keep coming back?  And Sarah Jane Smith – great, launch a spinoff series, but she doesn’t need to keep coming back.  Let’s be done with the old companions, and move on to new adventures.
  • Daleks!  I love them; I hate them.  They are horrible enemies, and make for a great story.  But they seem to have become the trump card story line.  When you run out of bad guys – “hey, let’s write the Daleks into the story.”  Let’s be creative.  I know the Daleks have been there since the second story, but do they have to keep coming back?  I know from the preview that they’re back, and redesigned, but hopefully their not part of an overarching plot line.  I’m ready for more.
  • More TARDIS – for those of you unaware – the TARDIS or Time And Relative Dimension in Space – is the Doctors “ship”.  On the outside, it’s an old English Police Box – but on the inside, it’s a cavernous ship.  “It’s bigger on the inside.” I remember the old episodes when the crew would get lost in the Tardis, I want more of that. Let’s reveal some more secrets about this wonderful blue box!

I don’t ask for much – just a little creativity, and a whole lot of fun.  And for those of you fortunate enough to see season 5 when its’ aired, thank you for your discretion.

Allons-y!