Tangled Hair
Beth was sitting in an airport terminal waiting, along with several other
people she did not know, to board a plane. As she waited she pulled out her Bible
and began to read.
Suddenly she felt as if the people sitting there around her were looking at her. She
looked up, but she realized that they were looking just over her head in the direction
right behind her. She turned around to see what everyone was look at and when she did, she
saw a stewardess pushing a wheelchair in which sat the ugliest old man she had ever seen.
He had long white hair which was a tangled mess. His face was really, really wrinkled and
he didn't look at all friendly.
Suddenly, Beth didn't know why, but she felt drawn to the old man. She thought at first
that God wanted her to witness to him. In her mind she said she was thinking, 'Oh, God,
please, not now, not here.' No matter what she did, however, she couldn't get the old man
off her mind. Suddenly she knew what God wanted her to do. She was supposed to brush this
old man's' tangled hair! She went over and knelt down in front of the old man and said,
"Sir, may I have the honor of brushing your hair for you?"
He said, "WHAT?"
She thought, 'Oh great, he's hard of hearing.' Again, a little louder, she said,
'Sir, may I have the honor of brushing your hair for you?'
He answered, "If you are talking to me, you are going to have to speak up, I'm
practically deaf."
This time she was almost yelling, "Sir, may I please have the honor of brushing your
hair for you?"
Everyone was watching to see what his response would be. The old man just looked at her
confused and said, "I guess if you really want to." Then Beth said,
"I don't even have a brush, but I just thought I would ask."
The old man said, "Look in the bag hanging on the back of my chair, there is a brush
in there."
Beth got the brush from the bag and started brushing his hair. (Her little girl had long
hair so she had lots of practice getting tangles out. She knew how to be gentle with him)
She worked for a long time until every last tangle was out.
Just as she was finishing, she heard the old man crying and she went around in front of
him and placed her hands on his knees. Kneeling in front of him, looking directly into his
eyes, she said, "Sir, do you know Jesus?"
He answered, "Yes, of course I know Jesus. You see, my bride told me she couldn't
marry me unless I knew Jesus, so I learned all about Jesus and asked Him to come into my
heart many years ago before I married my bride." He continued, "You know,
I am on my way home to go and see my wife. I have been in the hospital for a long time and
had to have special surgery in this city far from my home. My wife couldn't come
with me because she is so frail herself." He sighed, "I was so worried
about how terrible my hair looked and I didn't want her to see me looking so awful, but I
couldn't brush my hair
all by myself." Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he thanked Beth for brushing
his hair. He thanked her over and over again.
By then Beth was also crying, the people around her were crying, the stewardess was
crying. As they were all boarding their plane, the stewardess stopped Beth and said, 'Why
did you do that?'
And right there was the opportunity, the door that had been opened to share with someone
else the love of God. We don't always understand God's ways, but be ready. He may use us
to meet the need of someone else, like He met the need of this old man and then in that
moment in also calling out to a lost soul who needed to know about His love.