How About That Hair!?

The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown

Peace lasted three aisles after I handed 4-year-old Meredith the candy cane from my purse to keep her occupied, while we shopped at Kmart on the cold January day.

Near housewares, past after-Christmas sales items and new Valentine’s Day displays, Meredith’s candy-cane-crunching screeched to a halt. Her eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open. I followed her gaze.

Oh, no.

A woman strutted toward us in a short red dress, my Mom would call sprayed on. Her heels clicked against the hard tiles. Teased blonde hair towered in a beehive that would’ve made Dolly Parton envious. Vanilla musk trailed behind her as her earrings swayed and her stilettos sparkled.

That’s when I started praying.

Please, Lord, don’t let Meredith say anything.

But kids are bold. And Meredith had a loud voice that carried.

“Momma, HOW ABOUT THAT HAIR?! IT’S SOOOO TALL!”

I froze. I plastered on a nervous smile and muttered, “Yes, honey. Isn’t it pretty?”

The woman smirked at me and winked at Meredith.

I grabbed Meredith’s hand, turned the buggy, and wheeled away.

But Meredith wasn’t done.

“How’d she get it so high, Momma? Did she glue it? Can I touch it?”

“Use your inside voice, please. And no, you can’t touch it,” I whispered. “Let’s get what we came for and head home.”

I thought Meredith was making fun of the woman, and I wanted to escape the moment without further drama. My face burned with embarrassment while Meredith stared wide-eyed with wonder.

While I remained mortified by the situation, Meredith’s world expanded. For her, that one wild and wonderful hairstyle unlocked something inside her. The beehive represented endless possibilities. That moment sparked the beginning of a colorful life I never saw coming.

As soon as she could, Meredith began changing her own hair color. She tried pink, blue, purple, gray, and teal. One time, it was magenta with gold glitter. Another time, she wore tiny star clips in a constellation pattern. She became a walking kaleidoscope of creativity.

And then came the wigs.

Meredith wore them all. She had long and sleek, short and sassy, curly, straight, with bangs or without. She reinvented herself week by week, with her head as a canvas for whatever mood, story, or color she wanted to share.

I never knew who’d appear each morning. One day, Movie Star Meredith arrived for breakfast. The next day, Disco Queen Meredith waited in the car. Sometimes, she appeased me with a Librarian Chic look.

I’ll admit it. I tried to convince Meredith to return to her natural color from time to time. But she had a mind of her own, just like I’d raised her.

Meanwhile, I stayed in the conservative corner with my safe, simple bob.

Our styles didn’t match. We weren’t even close. But Meredith always made it work. Even when I didn’t “get” the look, I admired her confidence.

As Meredith got older, the same openness showed up in her friendships. She welcomed people from every walk of life, including people from different countries, cultures, and beliefs. Meredith never judged anyone by appearance or background. She saw them as people.

One evening, as I drove Meredith and a car full of her friends to the movies, I looked in the rearview mirror and realized that every single one of our passengers came from a different culture. My backseat looked like the world—bright, diverse, and connected.

And in that moment, I realized I’d had my first clue of things to come that day in Kmart when she’d seen the beauty of a beehive. Since then, Meredith had been teaching me how to see people the way God does, through curiosity, compassion, and an open heart.

That beehive hadn’t just surprised us in a Kmart aisle. It became a glimpse of the way Meredith would move through life. In the end, it had nothing to do with hair at all.

Be kind. Be curious. Be open to a world more colorful than you imagined.

Because the Lord sees the heart, and when we look beyond the outside, we notice what matters most.

People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” – 1 Samuel 16:7b.