I recently started letting my gray hair grow out. To the surprise of most of my friends and family, I’ve ended the “covering up” that’s been going on since I was 24. Until recently, I had been set on continuing to dye my hair. But now, it’s been so interesting to hear some people’s compliments and others’ surprise as they exclaim, “you’re too young for gray!”
I’m 40 years old — a fact I don’t have any problem disclosing. As I said once in a previous blog, I’m still surprised I’ve survived my own choices these past 40 years. Time and time again, my survival has shown me proof of the loving God I serve! And so, it began to dawn on me that, if I have grown to a place of acceptance of the change (and natural aging) taking place and even seeing God’s majesty in it, then why would God changing my hair color be any different? Why would I be fighting, once again, His change? I mean surely, I have no control over the color my hair grows. (Matthew 5:36 confirms this!) But the One who made me does.
A Personal Choice
Now to be clear, I’m not saying it is sinful for someone to dye their hair. I don’t have conviction personally about having done so and I don’t believe one can draw conclusive evidence from Scripture that it’s sinful. And I’m also not saying that anyone should stop dying their hair just to prove something about their authenticity in their walk. For me, this has been an entirely personal decision. Yet I do admit I get excited about the Scripture references such as Proverbs 16:31 and 20:29 that confirm the beauty of gray hair!
Too Old to Hold Back from Him
But I have gone back to ponder comments about my being “too young” for gray. While I understand the thinking behind them, I know for certain that I’m not too young to fully accept and even embrace all that God is doing. If anything, I’m way past due for that. I’m just no longer caught up in the world’s standard for what makes me beautiful. I’m seeking His.
He’s numbered the hairs on my head (Luke 12:7). My hair, like the rest of me, belongs to Him. Will I ever go back to dying my hair? I don’t know. Probably not. I’m already on to finding the next thing that I might still be holding back from Him. At seven years reborn, I might still be “young” in Christ, but I’m too old to pretend that I don’t know better. It’s all His and always has been. Even the little white hairs quickly coming in, that may not be “of this world.”
