The Curse of the Cowlick

I've never been one to care about hair. At the risk of being called out by N.O.W. or punched by some woman at the mall, it doesn't matter to me how much trouble a woman has with her hairstyle, as long as it looks good when she's in public. I have never read or done much research into the problems and methods of women and their hair, but one thing that I do know is that the same concern of hair appearance and style have now struck the world of men. I have buddies who use more products on and in their hair than they have athletic shoes. What the heck?

At first glance, you would quickly realize that my hair is certainly not my priority in life's great scheme. It stays generally short and where I can just run a brush or my fingers through it in the morning and go - the lower maintenance, the better. Rarely does a product other than shampoo become involved in my morning ablutions and if it is a genuine bad hair day, then, well... that's why they make ballcaps, right?

As a young boy, I was plagued by a cowlick. You know, that little tuft of hair that sticks straight up or grows sideways to every other hair and there is no product short of duct tape that will keep it in place. It was the bane of my existence and every adult woman that passed me would always ooh and ahh talk about that "cute little cowlick". I hated it with a passion and was so thankful in my later teenage years when it finally went away.

Or, so I thought....

I have noticed over the past couple weeks that something strange was happening in my hair and assuming that it was just a result of my last haircut (given by myself late one night), I just glopped a little gel on it and went on. Well, the past couple of days, even the gel just laughed when it saw that spot where it was about to go. So, today I headed to the local style shop to have a professional cut this abnormality and restore my normal appearance. What to my horrified ears did she say? "Oh, I see you have a cute little cowlick up here!". NO! NO! NO! It was back. From the lurking pre-adolescent traumas of inferiority and rejection, the cowlick was back. "But, I'm in my fifties," I protested to the stylist. She laughed (laughed, mind you), "Well, sir, many times those cowlicks reappear from time to time in a person's life and it sure looks like yours is back - and with a real attitude." When I got home and began looking in the mirror, I fully expected to see the return of acne and those awful black and silver glasses that we band nerds seemed to embrace.

During the years, I have known many friends from earlier years that have left the church and are not actively serving God in any visible form. They claim to still be a believer, and I cannot judge that, but their words and lifestyles do not reflect that belief. As a child, they loved and believed in God; but as they began to grow and see the world, their faith and actions came under other controls. It wasn't cool to be a Believer and they began to dampen and try to contain their beliefs.

"Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

In this proverb, the Teacher tells us that the way we are raised as a youngster, even though we may depart from it (go into a sense of dormancy, try to quench it), when we become older we will return to the ways and beliefs of our youth. In other words, at some point, the things we wanted most to ignore once again becomes a part of our lives. God is always there and waiting for us to return to the prominent place in our lives.

As today progressed, I have tried to accept and bond with my returning cowlick. It was a part of my youth and now it has returned. Has someone you love and care for left the ways of God through the years? Claim the promise in Proverbs. Over the recent ten or fifteen years, I have seen long-time friends returning to church so that their children can learn the ways of God. They are once again worshipping and taking an active role in the life of the local fellowship. Why don't you be the cowlick in someone's life and help them return to their childhood.

And for today my friends, this has been the gospel according to Jimmy.