Silver Crowns

Proverbs 16:31 -- "A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness."

 

image: aiminglow.com

Dry leaves crunched under Tyler's size four sneakers as the bright red smile on his Elmo tennis-shoes peered up through the deep green grass in Papaw Dalton's back yard. Bobby Dalton - a.k.a. Papaw - was raking the leaves that kept falling down like rain from the old pecan tree. Tyler mimicked every single move his Papaw made. Using a small plastic rake with a bright yellow handle, Tyler had managed to rake up several small piles of leaves and beamed up at his Grandad with eyes full of pride. Just tall enough to stand above his Papaw's knee, Tyler carefully raked at a few stray pine needles, not wanting to miss a single one of them. He loved to "help" Papaw do the yard work. And though it took Dad twice as long to get the yard finished with his youngest grandson helping him out, he never once declined Tyler's enthusiastic offer to assist. Those two; Tyler and Papaw - were peas in a pod. 

Papaw was easily Tyler's best friend.

I can still see the two of them together, rocking in the brown swing nestled under the trees. The bright Florida sunshine would glint off of Bobby Dalton's white hair and sparkle just a tiny bit. The two Dalton men would sit out there for hours, Tyler's little cheeks red from the heat as Papaw taught him to whittle sticks with his old pocket knife. I never knew what they talked about all that time, but I know those moments were precious. I don't think that the many decades between them mattered a single bit. And I'll never forget the stories Tyler would relate to me when he came back inside. There were Dad's own "little mean Johnny" stories, and stories about something he called a "grampus". There were stories about Dad being attacked by Mom's family "guard turkey" when he would go pick her up for dates back in Eastern Tennessee - before they were married in the small white hillside church. Tyler would tell them all - almost word for word, as we sat around the dinner table together. 

I learned a lot from Dad Dalton. And once, when trimming the hairline on the back of his head, I thought of Proverbs 16:31. A gray head is a crown of glory. Snip, snip. It is found in the way of righteousness. Snip, snip, snip.

As the silver strands peppered the floor around my bare feet - I thought; it's no wonder his hair is so white. I can say without a single doubt, that Dad walked in the way of righteousness. He led his family in that path. He taught his sons to walk that path. And he showed his grandchildren how to stay on it when the way seemed rough. 

I'm missin' Dad today. As I look into the big bathroom mirror and scrunch my nose up at the black and white roots growing up from under the long-neglected hair color - I hope I earn a crown of splendor. I pray that when my grand-kids "help" me with some household chore, they can look back and see glints of Jesus shine out from me as the light reflects off all the white in my hair.