Jimmy Cochran Columnist

  I’ve never been one to care about hair, and at first glance you would quickly realize that my hair is certainly not my priority in life’s great scheme. It stays generally short and where I can just run a brush or my fingers through it in the morning and go - the lower maintenance, the better. Rarely does a product other than shampoo become involved in my morning ablutions and if it is a genuine bad hair day, then, well... that’s why they make ball caps, right?

  As a young boy, a cowlick plagued me. You know, that little tuft of hair that sticks straight up or grows sideways and there is no product short of duct tape that will keep it in place. It was the bane of my existence and every adult woman that passed me would always ooh and ahh and talk about that “cute little cowlick.” I hated it with a passion and was so thankful in my teenage years when it finally went away.

  I have noticed after my recent haircut that something horrible is happening in my hair. I thought I could just glop a little gel on it, but even the gel just laughed when it saw that spot where it was about to go. So, I headed back to the local style shop to have a professional try to fix this abnormality and restore my normal appearance. What to my horrified ears did she say? “Oh, I see you have a cute little cowlick up here!” NO! NO! NO! It was back. From the lurking pre-adolescent traumas of inferiority and rejection, the cowlick was back. “But, I’m almost sixty,” I protested to the stylist. She laughed (laughed, mind you), “Well, sir, many times those cowlicks reappear from time to time in a person’s life and it sure looks like yours is back - and with a real attitude.” When I got home and began looking in the mirror, I fully expected to see the return of acne and those awful black and silver glasses that we band nerds seemed to embrace.

  During the years, I have known many friends from earlier years that have left the church and are not actively serving God in any visible form. They claim to still be a believer, and I cannot judge that, but their words and lifestyles do not reflect that belief. As a child, they loved and believed in God; but as they began to grow and see the world, their faith and actions came under other controls. It wasn’t cool to be a believer and they began to dampen and try to contain their beliefs.

  “Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

  In this proverb, the Teacher encourages us that even though we may depart from the teachings of our youth when we become older we will return to the ways and beliefs of our youth. The things we wanted most to ignore as we grew will once again becomes a part of our lives. And the promise is that God is always there and waiting for us to return.

  As today progressed, I have tried to accept and bond with my returning cowlick. It was a part of my youth and now it has returned. Has someone you love and cared for left the ways of God through the years? In recent years, I have seen long-time friends returning to church so that their children can learn the ways of God. They are once again worshipping and taking an active role in the life of the local fellowship. Be an encourager to those who have wandered away to return to God and His plans for them. Be the cowlick (of sorts) to remind them of their youth.

  And for today my friends, this has been the gospel according to Jimmy.