The Strand on God’s timeline
I called it The Strand. And we were not friends. The Strand arrived unannounced on the top of my head, shiny and unwelcome among the darker occupants. I was unamused.
Coaxing one thin hair to disengage from a myriad of others is no easy task. I had been cautioned that under no circumstances should I ever pull out a gray hair. The explanation warned about summoning the wrath of gray-haired follicles—which sounded rather risky. Speeding to the hair salon over one measly strand also felt overly dramatic.
My at-home remedy was a simple pair of scissors. Squinting in the mirror, slowly sifting hairs through my fingertips was admittedly a tedious task. We eventually reached a fragile agreement. The Strand could live if it remained hidden at all times among the infiltrated brown. Peace reigned for a season. Until I noticed The Strand appearing on one side of my head, then mysteriously on the other. The Strand flaunted its final defiance by emerging front and center in my bangs. I now knew without a doubt: The Strand had multiplied. I no longer had singular Strand, but plural Streaks … of Gray.
I wouldn’t classify myself as an antiquity, but I admit that I’m becoming acquainted with the vintage category. My first acknowledgment of age was The Strand. The second was the night I slept on the floor and didn’t spring back up like a rambunctious child at a sleepover. The third arrived in Ecclesiastes.
“Ecclesiastes is a hard book,” I confessed to my husband.
“Really? I’ve always liked it.”
“One of your favorites, isn’t it?” Obviously, I was missing something. I decided to reread Ecclesiastes slowly while consulting several old commentaries available online. I learned the beautiful complexity, conflict, and the gospel importance of the book. I also found chapter 7 verse 10: “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” On this, Matthew Henry commented, “It is a folly to cry up the goodness of former times; as if former ages had not the like things to complain of that we have: this arises from discontent and aptness to quarrel with God Himself.”
God knows each of those strands on my head and he is not alarmed or surprised by their appearance.
Yikes, I didn’t actually want to be moaning before God about these trivial things. Or as the Benson Commentary puts it, “Opposing thy shallow wit to his unsearchable wisdom.” How foolish of me to be discontent about my age and position on his timeline. God has written my days in his books (Psalm 139:16). He knows each of those strands on my head and he is not alarmed or surprised by their appearance. “The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB).
As the Streaks of Gray increase their reach upon my scalp, my appreciation of his promised return grows sweeter. My departure to be with him grows ever nearer and that is a good thing for one who loves his appearing! “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).
