Tangled Hair


Beth was sitting at an airport terminal waiting to board a
plane.  She was sitting there with several other people whom
she did not know who were also waiting.

As she waited, she pulled out her Bible and started to read.
All of a sudden, she felt as if the people sitting there around
her were looking at her.  She looked up but realized that they
were looking just over her head, in the direction right behind her.

She turned to see what everyone was looking at and when she
did, she saw a flight attendant pushing a wheelchair with the
ugliest old man sitting in it.  It was the ugliest man she ever
saw.  He had this long white hair that was all tangled and such
a mess.  His face was really wrinkled, and he didn't look
friendly at all.

She didn't know why, but she felt drawn to the man and 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, she couldn't get the man off her mind,
and all of a sudden she knew what God wanted her to do.  She was
supposed to brush this man's hair.

She went 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 going to
talk to me, you are going to have to speak up; I am practically deaf."

So 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, "Well, I
guess if you really want too."  She said, "I don't even have a
brush, but I thought I would ask anyway."  He said, "Look in the
bag hanging on the back of my chair, there is a brush in there."

So she got the brush out and started brushing his hair.
(She has a little girl with long hair, so she has lots of
practice getting tangles out and knew how to be gentle with
him.)  She worked for a long time, until every last tangle was out.

Just as she was finishing up, she heard the old man crying.
She went and put her hands on his knees, kneeling in front of
him again looking directly into his eyes and 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 a special surgery in this town far from my home.  My wife
couldn't come with me because she is so frail herself.

He said, "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.  She was
crying, people all around witnessing this were crying, and as
they were all boarding the plane, the flight attendant who was
also crying, stopped her and asked, "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 in a moment, also calling out to a lost soul
who needed to know His love."
                                                   Author Unknown