I recently had lunch with a friend who has a beautiful crown of white hair, which I love. As we were walking into the eatery I couldn’t resist reaching out to gently stroke the back of her head, feeling the softness of her hair. It was just so beautiful!
As soon as I did that something happened! She recalled a moment from the distant past which she hadn’t thought of for a very long time.
As she told it: A missionary from Africa was visiting their home when her children were very young. As she visited with this man of God, her son, who had been watching them from a distance, piped up and asked a very childlike question of this visiting guest. He asked, “May I touch your hair?”
As a woman of color, I couldn’t help but smile inside as she retold that part of her story, as very often when my children were younger their young Caucasian friends would ask similar questions, purely from their own natural curiosity. Children are always watching and seeing. So what they would sometimes notice was the distinct difference in the color and texture of hair. Thus was the case in the eyes of this young boy as he sat observing this dark-skinned man sitting and talking with his mother.
Anyway, the missionary, whose name was Festo Kivengere, with a head full of tight coarse hair, responded to this child’s simple request by bowing his head low and permitting him to touch his hair. How cool is that?
As my friend shared this memory I could see it moved her to consider such an act of humility.
Later on she sent me a message. She’d gone on the internet and Googled(r) his name. What she learned that she didn’t know at the time is this humble man, who’d sat in her living room was now deceased and that he’d been referred to by many as the Billy Graham of Africa. Sweet!!
Dear ones, as children,; daughters of the Most High, we are blessed to have that same access to our Father as this little boy had in touching the head of this godly man. He bent low and let a little boy touch his hair. Psalm 116:2 says, “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”1
I can’t begin to express the emotion that floods my soul as I write this Victory Call.
Sisters, in our deepest pit, at our highest heights, Abba Father is a breath away and there is no sorrow we cannot express, nor joy that we will rejoice in that He is not near enough to incline His ear; to bend down and listen.”
Amazing love!! HOW CAN IT BE?!
Stephanie Paul
Stephanie Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women’s Addiction Ministry. She has been married for almost 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. Stephanie serves alongside him as Care Group leaders in their church. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.
Victory Call 