My Tonsorial Appointment
The first Wednesday of every month...
At 11:00 AM, I find myself in a position to make 8 people upset. This is my monthly appointment with my “Tonsorial Artist”. So… you’re probably asking, “what is a Tonsorial artist?” Tonsorial comes from the Latin verb tondēre, meaning "to shear, clip or crop." In more simpler terms… “My Barber”. Kristine has been cutting my hair for several months now and we have set up a standing appointment for the first Wednesday of every month at 11:00 AM. When she’s done with my haircut, we confirm my next appointment and put it in our calendars.
This brings me to the point...
Of where I make 8 people upset. Apparently Wednesday mornings are always busy at Dick’s Barber Shop and, upon arrival, I find the 8 chairs in the waiting area filled with folks waiting for haircuts who have not made an appointment and who voice their disdain of the fact I’m instantly first in line for Kristine’s empty chair. I actually heard somebody mumble last week, “I’ve been waiting over an hour and he gets to go ahead of me because he has an appointment!” Well… Duh! That’s how appointments work, silly!
You know what else...
I like about my monthly tonsorial appointment? Kristine knows what I need before I even sit down in her chair. Flinging the apron around my neck, she instantly grabs the #4 razor and starts tondēring away. Our conversation instantly picks up from where we left off the previous month… vacations… activities… kid stories… birthdays… going to the lake… for the next 20 minutes… well… probably more like 15 minutes… we never skip a beat on catching up with the happenings in our lives. Finally… Kristine does a quick 180° turn of the chair for me to inspect her masterpiece in the mirror, finishes up a little trimming, shows me the teaspoon of clippings I left on the floor and sends me on my way… after confirming our next appointment, of course.
As I leave...
I smile and wave at the 8 grumbling people in the waiting area…
Thinking about my monthly tonsorial appointment,
I realized I never have to sit in a waiting room waiting for my turn to talk to God. I have a standing, open appointment with Him… anywhere… anytime… always first in line. I don’t have to take a number and wait my turn. He’s waiting for me! His chair is open! And you know what else? He already knows what I need before I sit down. He already knows what needs to be “sheared, clipped or cropped” from my life and goes right to work. He wants our conversation to instantly pick up from where we left off the last time we talked… vacations… activities… kid stories… birthdays… going to the lake… He’s interested in it all. I’m not sure why I’m hesitant to hold back what I really need to talk to him about… He’s knows it all! And He loves me anyway!!! And… when he does a quick 180° turn of the chair for me to inspect His masterpiece in the mirror, He wants me to see His reflection in the mirror… not mine!
Find yourself grumbling and complaining today?
Feel like you’re sitting in God’s waiting room while others step in line in front of you? You’ve forgotten you have an appointment with your Heavenly Father. His chair is open! He’s waiting to talk to you! He already knows what you need! And He loves you! Just talk to Him...
And… when you get up from His chair... all the cares... all the burdens... all the fears? You won’t find them as a teaspoon of clippings laying on the floor…
Because He removes mountains…
Jeremiah 33:3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Jeremiah 31:35 For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”
Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.