You can't tell by the recent picture on the left, but I have a LOT of gray in my hair. I'm one of those chickies who's been a blonde, a redhead, a brunette, and a brownette (is there such a word? My hubby and I have debated it, but I KNOW, for a fact, that I heard it in a shampoo commercial some years ago). Even in my 20s, I changed my hair color from time to time, sometimes getting a frosting.The last color I put in my hair was an ash blond (you can see it in my promo pic on my blog, which is due to be changed soon). That was over a year ago. Since then, I've had my hairstylist slowly cut out the blond until it's returned to its original brown.
With...many strands of silver, more of which are popping up every day, with my 55th birthday right around the corner.
Recently I mentioned that to a nurse during my last doctor's visit. She had even more silver in her hair than I do, with a long bob that showed it off something adorable. When I complimented her, she proudly told me she'd stopped coloring her hair two years ago, and that she loved her gray. She added with a smile, "I deserve it. I've earned it. I love it!"
The writer of Proverbs would paraphrase her words to say, "I've earned my crown of splendor." That's such a lovely way of looking at it.
Not everyone reaches this age. In a culture that celebrates youth and treats aging like something to be ashamed of, something that's quite not that attractive, it's sorta rebellious and sassy to say, "No, I'm not going to tint or bleach my hair just because society says I'm supposed to look like I'm 20 or 30 forever." Tragically, there are people who, either through hard living or illness or some other heartbreaking circumstance, are taken from this earth much too soon.
Then there are some of us who have lived long enough to get gray in our hair. Not because we're better than anyone else. By the grace of God, we're here to tell our stories. We get to grow old while still being young at heart. We don't know how many years we have left in this life, but we're determined to enjoy them and live them to the fullest--again, by God's grace.
I could change the color of my hair, becoming a blonde or a redhead or a brunette, but that won't make me 25 again. Wearing a size 2 bikini won't make me 25 again, either. I don't want to be 25 again. Age really is just a number. In this life, regardless of what society dictates as beauty, we're meant to go forward, to mature, to grow.
I'm looking forward to the day when someone compliments my silver hair. My answer will be, "Thank you very much. I've earned it. I love my crown of splendor!"
