Be Careful What You Wish For

For a long time, I had been wishing for a hairstyle that was in tune with the times —one that would be easier to care for and take less of my time and attention.

How little I knew that my desire was about to be realized in an unexpected way! One day while vacuuming, I tripped over the cord, and down I went.

I moved tentatively, fearful of broken bones.

What a relief when everything worked! However, I felt blood on the right side of my face. I phoned my younger daughter, a surgical technician, hoping she could stop the bleeding and apply appropriate dressings. She alerted my son who lives nearby, and he came right away. Though the bleeding continued, I resisted anyone calling 911 until after I had passed out. Then, I had no choice.

So just two weeks shy of my ninety-fourth birthday, I was headed to the emergency room for the first time in my life! It turned out an artery in my scalp had been cut and had to be sutured. During this procedure, the right side of my head was shaved, and the left side was cut extremely short. Because of blood loss, I was kept overnight at the hospital. The next day, I was released only because my older daughter, a nurse, put her life on hold to care for me for the next several days.

She was relieved by my sister for almost another week.

So, you see, I now have a hairdo that fulfills all my wishes: I no longer have a dated hairstyle, it takes a minimum of care, and I have no idea when it will be otherwise because my hair does not grow fast! Lessons learned: (1) independence (or stubbornness) can sometimes cause inconvenience and even hardship in one’s life and the lives of others; and (2) if I watch where I walk and step high enough, tripping will not be a problem.

I have facetiously wondered whether it might be harder for God to number the hairs of my head now that my hair is like stubble.

However, we know that nothing is too hard for the Lord.

It seems to me that a Father who loves us to that extent is more than worthy of our loyalty, praise, and thanksgiving. Incidentally, whatever hair the redeemed have or don’t have really won’t matter, for we all will be content.

Lila Farrell Morgan