Proverbs 16:31 Gray? What gray?

Gray hair is a crown of glory;

    it is gained in a righteous life. (Proverbs 16:31)

I was going to ignore this verse, in much the same way I’ve been hiding my gray hair for the past 20 years! If gray hair is such a “crown of glory,” why am I spending so much money to get rid of it???

My mother was a beautiful woman. In fact, she was a starlet under contract to Warner Bros. in the late 1930’s to mid 1940’s. However, I received none of her traits! I got my father’s curly hair and flat chest! And, apparently his early gray hair! My father was completely white by his 40’s. I think I might have been, too, had I not started to color the hair to hide it! Mom, on the other hand, had beautiful brunette hair late in life...

My husband would love for me to let it go white. Of course he would! He’s been completely white for years! :) Gray hair in men is distinguished, and, frankly, pretty sexy. Not so much in women... I don’t want to look like Auntie Em from The Wizard of Oz. 

So, I was going to just skip right over this verse. However, I feel a need to acknowledge how thankful I am to be 62! I love my age at this point in my life! I love that I have moved from the years of struggles in child rearing and the worries of building a career and home to the relaxed pleasure of being a grandmother!

I’m thankful that I now have 37 years of walking with the LORD and experiencing His great faithfulness in my life. I’m so very thankful that I now have two daughters and sons-in-law who are sprouting gray hairs of their own (misery loves company???). In fact, the other day Don was telling me a story about someone he had met, and when I asked him how old the guy was, he responded, “Oh, he’s middle-aged - about 35.” I laughed out loud and reminded him that, by that measure, both of our daughters are now middle-aged! Then, of course, I had to text the girls to tell them that story!

But, one of the things for which I’m so very grateful is that I have actually been given 62 years of life so far, when many others are given far less. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be given - the speed of life accelerates incredibly on this downhill plane! But I do know that God is not yet finished with me. Still so much work to do to transform this heart!

Even though I pay a small fortune so that others see me as a blond, I have a feeling that God sees me as completely white-haired! Thank you, LORD, for that crown of glory!