Crosswalk the Devotional - Nov. 5, 2009

November 5, 2009

When Life Gets Hairy 
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

In him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17

"It's just hair; it'll grow back. She'll still look cute."

My encouragement was falling on deaf ears. It was all my wife could do to hold it together. We had just picked up our 4-year-old goldilocked girl at a friends' house, and my wife was met at the door by a teary-eyed mother whose daughter had just practiced for pre-K cosmetology school.

Me? I was just glad everyone still had their eyes and ears, and that Lauren had not been the one doing any cutting (though letting someone do that to you is an issue in its own right). My son - he didn't understand what the big hairy deal was at all. His sister was still his sister, and we were still going out to dinner for his excellent report card... weren't we?

Everyone had their own point of view and their own set of facts. Nobody else's views or words were doing much swaying. All that was going to fix this was a detour to the one who can fix all wrongs, by which I mean, of course, Desiree, the woman who was familiar with my daughter's hair from having trimmed it on several occasions.

She worked a miracle I didn't believe was possible. The women rejoiced. "Why is Mommy hugging the woman?" asked my son. "Come, son," I said. "Come with me. Let me explain to you what hair means to a woman."

My daughter does look cute again. A special spritzing scrunching product helps you not be able to see the jagged cuts. A pleasant side effect is that her blue eyes look bigger and really pop now. Already, my wife feels silly for having reacted like she did (though I do have to point out she was gracious and forgiving to the mom of the little girl who did the dastardly deed). We have heard from untold numbers of folks who have experienced something similar. We have even begun to look back on this - as I suggested right after it happened - as a funny story.

But at the time? Nothing was going to be right, nobody was going to convince anybody else of anything, no words were going to be meaningful until everyone and everything came together in The Great Fixer.

It's no different with real-life events, real points of view, real pains, real cuts, real well-meaning people. Until we slow down and see the miracle, it's all just noise and chaos.

He makes all things new.

He makes all things hold together.

He makes you look back and shake your head at yourself and maybe even laugh.

He is the judge, doctor, professor, artist, miracle worker. And his office is always open. After he does his thing, you can count on hugging and rejoicing and chances for bonding. Multitudes will be able to relate.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Don't panic. Don't argue. Just go see him. Bring your friends and family, too. See what he can and will do.

Further Reading

All Things
Why I Believe in God
The Trend of 'Believing without Belonging'