I went to town to get a haircut the other day and traffic was terrible. Christmas shoppers were flooding the roads and I wished I had just waited until after Christmas. My barber is a talkative person and though I wasn’t in much of a mood for small talk she doesn’t take a breath and asks a jillion questions.
I almost felt I was being interrogated as she asked all kinds of questions about where I was from and so on. She is a curious, friendly, person and meant no harm by it, but I was in a bad mood due to the traffic and just wanted to brood. I was also concerned that it was getting late, and I needed to get on the road before it got too late because I cannot see to drive at night. As we talked. she seemed to be cutting my hair a single sprig at a time and the sun was heading toward another part of the world.
However, one thing led to another, and I ended up giving her my testimony. She seemed deeply moved and I was fearful she might butcher my hair as tears blurred her eyes. Apparently, her sons have gotten into some serious trouble with drugs and other dangerous activities, and she was worried sick about them. Others in her family were currently incarcerated and she did not want to see them end up there as well.
I asked if she was a believer and she told me, “Very much so!” How about your boys? More tears.
I asked if she liked to read, and she told me she was an avid reader. I told her I would give her a copy of my book and she was genuinely excited about reading it and getting her kids to do so as well. She was excited and said she felt it was just what was needed. I volunteered to talk to them if she thought it might help. More tears!
As I was driving home, I reviewed what had just happened. I went in there in a sour mood due to the heavy traffic and didn’t want to talk to anyone, much less give my testimony in a packed barber shop. But God had other plans and I was glad He did.
The Christmas spirit should be about such things and not so much about scurrying around buying gift after gift, don’t you think?
I am reminded that no greater gift has ever been given, no example of generosity so selfless, no act in human history so important as Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. There is no event in the world more important than God, bringing eternal, abundant life and promising that we are never alone. Though we do not honor God as we should, in His unbounded generosity, He gave the very best and most valuable thing He had. This Christmas please make an effort to tell someone what He has done for you and wants to do for them.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!