A while ago I was searching for an eyeglass case to protect sunglasses in a beach bag. Since Nate was always careful with his glasses, I looked in his top dresser drawer, which I haven’t completely emptied yet. Sure enough, there were five snap-shut cases.
One had reading glasses in it. Two had prescription sunglasses. One was empty, and the fifth surprised me. Inside was a small, shiny pair of scissors.
Throughout the years of fathering 7 children, Nate had had trouble hanging onto a small pair of scissors he kept in our bathroom medicine cabinet and blamed different kids for its repeated disappearance. Eventually he’d always head to Walgreens to buy another one. Today I inadvertently discovered how he’d finally solved his dilemma. He’d hidden a scissors in a glasses case, which made me laugh.
Why did he want tiny scissors anyway? In all the years we were married, though I often heard about his scissors disappearing, I never asked what he was cutting. But now I know.
Tucked in with the scissors was a tiny comb resembling a Barbie doll accessory that triggered a memory of something that happened years ago.
We were enjoying a wedding reception when a young girl had approached Nate, asking if she could take his picture. Would he mind? His quizzical look made her finish his thought. “…because you look just like Donald Trump!”
Nate reluctantly agreed, even when the young photographer asked him to point his finger and say, “You’re fired!” He did it, albeit without enthusiasm. The rest of us enjoyed the moment far more than he did.
On the way home he said, “I hope that picture doesn’t turn up on the internet.” But my surprise came when he added, “I get that all the time.”
“You get what all the time?”
“Get taken for Donald Trump.”
And that, I decided, was what the mini-comb and scissors were all about. When his brows got bushy and the likeness became strong, he’d trim and comb them neatly. He wasn’t interested in being taken for Donald Trump.
Folklore says everybody has a double. I don’t believe it, because God is creative enough not to have to “ditto” anyone. But the concept of doubles is intriguing. Celebrity look-alike contests abound, and the side-by-side photos grab our attention. Some people develop flourishing careers based on looking like someone they’re not.
In reality, each of us is exactly who God made us to be, and he wants us to be ourselves, with one exception. He gives permission, actually urges us, to be a look-alike of one other person: him. Although we don’t need a scissors or comb to develop the resemblance, we do need something much more difficult to acquire: a non-stop attitude of sacrificial love.
Too bad that’s not available at Walgreens.
“Imitate God… in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Praising and Praying with Mary
- Please pray for tomorrow morning’s tube procedure to relocate it. I pray the pain will be gone but am trying not to get my hopes up.
- Praise God for answered prayer that the nausea is once again mild.