A Hair-raising Tale? (Angel in the Kitchen)

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Forget about Frankenstein’s monster or the Creature from the Black Lagoon! These guys are actually kind of sympathetic characters. Hey, wanna see something really scary?

I’m not a bad fish — just misunderstood. And look! I’ve got abs! That should count for something!

It’s a cook’s worst nightmare, something no one ever wants to see in real life! Is it that multi-legged cockroach that invaded your kitchen after stowing away in the bag of potatoes you just brought home? Shudder! Is it the trail of ants leading from the window, to that apple pie cooling on the counter, now covered with a seething swarm of hungry insects! Shiver! No, it’s something far more terrifying, something far more insidious. It’s … gulp … a human hair! Found where it’s not supposed to be: curled up on someone’s plate, lurking in a serving dish; peeking out from a casserole! Gahh-rosss!!!!

A stray hair in the kitchen or at the dining room table is not a pretty sight. Which is why chefs take precautions to keep their hair from getting into the food by wearing those cool, pouffy white hats. Cafeteria cooks are often seen wearing hair nets. And in our home, Wilma, who’s got tons of thick long black hair, carefully gathers it back in a ponytail that would make Mister Ed swoon, and ties it off before entering the kitchen — lest she violate a
universal law of cooking! Let’s face it, seeing a hair in the food can kill an appetite! Oh, the horror!

Hair. And horror. Two things that got us thinking. Recently, Wilma was encouraging a friend who had some frightful ideas about God. To set the record straight, she had to point out a few facts about our Heavenly Father. First off, God is NOT a holy terror just waiting for us to make a mistake so He can rain down fire upon us like the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit. Nor is He this strange, distant, impersonal alien entity, who just for kicks decided to create the universe, earth and people, and then abandoned His creation, leaving us to fend for ourselves.

Quite the contrary, the loving God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, who took on human form (in order to better relate to us) and walked the earth as Jesus Christ, cares about each of us deeply. Last week we discussed how God is vigilant to our sufferings. He’s moved by our sorrows, “He collects our tears in a bottle” that He may comfort us in times of trouble.

“If you’re going to cook those, will you PLEASE put on a hair net!”

Furthermore, our Heavenly Father is not a deadbeat dad. He didn’t create us and then walk out the door. “God is not human, that he should lie; not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act?” (Numbers 23:19 NIV) Never!

Indeed, “…God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'” (Hebrews 13:5) And the Psalmist wrote, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” (Psalm 27:10 NLT)

How close does God hold us? Close enough to gather every tear. How much does God care about you? Enough that He wants to be with you ALL THE TIME, involved in every aspect of your life. God is so observant, so personal, so caring, so concerned, and He values you so much that He even numbers “the hairs on your head”! (Matthew 10:30)

Which brings us back to the beginning of this post: speaking figuratively, with God being this careful about you, you’ll never have to fear a “stray hair” in life. God is watching over you and HE CARES! Cling to His promises. Run to His loving arms! “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV)

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