Even the Hairs of your Head

Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, I was a pale, dark-haired little girl who loved watching TV.

I remember that I wanted to look like, no actually, I wanted to be Elly May Clampett from “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show that debuted in 1962.

It was her long blonde hair and her sweet country personality that impressed me, and also probably because I spent way too time watching TV back then. I grew up admiring lots of TV actors. I remember my mom used to tell me that God made me just the way I was supposed to be, and to be happy with who I was. I didn’t believe my mom at the time and secretly planned to bleach my hair blonde like Elly May as soon as I reached age 18. Fortunately by the time I’d turned 18, I had grown out of my Elly May Clampett stage.

I was also a Tom-Boy. I used to play soldier and dress up in my brother’s army outfit, crawl on my belly in the woods behind our house, complete with a toy rifle strapped to my back and a toy knife in my mouth. Vic Morrow from the TV show “Combat” was my inspiration. Thankfully I grew out of this stage as well.

My surname was Query and I used to be a little embarrassed by it, especially when people pronounced it with a long “e” sound. Although “query” is synonymous with “question,” I didn’t like the slang connotation associated with it. I always used to feel like I was different from everyone else, and that I didn’t fit it. I didn’t trust people, was pretty much a loner, and was uncomfortable being around people. But, in reality it wasn’t my name that made me feel that way. More than likely it was due to some traumatic events I experienced as a child.

Life is not perfect.

In fact,

Life is messy sometimes.

But,

I discovered in my adulthood that the key to unlocking life’s messes is to look to God for answers to all of life’s questions.

Now I still have times when I feel different and feel like a loner but I prefer to say it’s because I’m just a little quirky, or maybe unique is a better word, but either way, I believe God has worked it all out for my good and His glory. My overall life has been overwhelmingly filled with many more blessings than problems.

I have to laugh when I think about my first car: it didn’t have a “P” for “Park” and the emergency brake was in-op. So to park the car, I carried a wedge to throw out under the tire to keep the car from rolling. Sometimes I’d miss and had to get out really quick and hope the car wouldn’t roll too far before I could get the wedge under the tire!

I also used to run out of gas all the time because I didn’t like spending money on gas. I much preferred to spend money on food or clothes. Ha! The mind of a 16 year old!

I graduated from high school in 1972. That same year that I voted in my first presidential election, for Richard Nixon no less. I used to get lost while driving to new places and I’d end up crying. I remember thinking how cool it would be if the radio could please just tell me where I was and how to get to where I was going. I was on the edge of brilliance (?!) but somehow fell short of inventing a GPS and navigation system. Ha!

When I was in my 20’s, I used to arm wrestle – and win. I got married at age 25, became a step-mom of two, traveled on our honeymoon to London, Paris and Rome and got sea-sick on my first cruise across the English Channel. I gave birth at age 26 to our first daughter, Michelle!

When I was in my 30’s, I gave birth at age 31 to our second daughter, Megan! I came dangerously close to alligators while floating down Ichetucknee Springs (Florida) in an inner tube. We moved to Florida from Indiana and traveled to Waikiki Beach Honolulu and West Edmonton, Canada.

When I was in my 40’s, I gave birth at age 42 to our third daughter, Mackenzie! We lived in a barn while building our first home as homeowners. While working with the youth group at our church, I hid in the curtains at JCPenney, wearing a disguise, while playing “Where’s Waldo?” at the mall. I worked nights for Delta Air Lines and was constantly sleep deprived. We moved from Florida to California and then back to Florida, then to Texas. My travels included Tokyo, Japan, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Honolulu, and Frankfurt, Germany.

In my 50’s, I slept on the street in downtown Los Angeles with Michelle and Megan and several strangers, while waiting in line for a TV game show. The police jokingly gave us our wake up call by megaphone! A year earlier, I was called up from the audience of this same game show when I heard them say, “Elaine Crandell, come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!” I traveled to Lake Tahoe, Mt Rushmore, and to the local maze where was I the first and only one in our family to finish all 4 mazes! I traveled to Times Square and the Empire State Building in NYC and stayed in a hotel on Times Square. I traveled to Chicago and stood on the Willis Skydeck. I also traveled to Moscow, St Petersburg and Yaroslavl Russia on my first mission trip with Michelle and Mackenzie, and to Toronto, Canada with Michelle on a second mission trip. And, I became a Maw-Maw!

Now in my 60’s, I’ve been indoor skydiving, walked on a glass skywalk over the Grand Canyon, traveled on three cruises to the Bahamas, four Caribbean cruises and one Alaskan cruise. I’ve driven all sorts of motorhomes all over the country, hundreds of miles, and enjoyed stopping and smelling the roses all along the way home. With 12 grandchildren (and counting) for my husband and I, my heart is full and so very thankful for all of life’s blessings.

Which brings me to why I decided to write. While I’ve just shared bits and pieces here of some of my life and some of my adventures, I well know that life is not about ease, comfort, and pleasure. It’s not about fun and games. It’s not about acquiring things and it’s not about traveling to new places.

Life is about knowing God and making Him known. It’s about glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

And,

God’s purpose for His children is to conform us to Christ’s image, to glorify Himself through us, and to use us to spread the gospel.

But, I know,

Many of us, myself included, didn’t come to Christ the first time we heard the gospel. We hesitated or we tried to get to God through our own good works, trusting in traditions, or by trying to do things in our own power.

As I look back over my life, I see where God has used some unlikely methods to get my attention and to accomplish His purposes in my life.

He did the same in Gideon’s life.

In Judges, Chapter 7, God used Gideon and a small army of 300 men to defeat the Midianites’ large army of 135,000. The small army won. God chose Gideon, the small army, and their weakness in order to put His might on display.

In this same way, God uses our weakness, suffering, and our fumbling efforts to both demonstrate His power, and to draw us closer to Him.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

So in my writings, it’s my goal to share “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” and the seemingly insignificant events of my life, in which God has used for His purposes and to draw me closer to Him. I believe God’s providence has protected and provided for me my entire life, even before I came to know Him, and up to, and including now.

I see my life as an intricate weaving of the good and the bad, be it quirky or unique, and the fun and not-so-fun. But through it all, I’ve learned that God has a plan and a purpose for everything that happens in life and that…

“in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

I’ve learned that His plans and His timing is perfect in every way.

So the pale, dark-haired little girl who dreamed of being Elly Mae Clampett has been transformed from the little lost girl that I was, to a daughter of the King.

God protected me. He sought me. He sent His Son Jesus to die for me, and He made me into the person that He always planned for me to be. He cared for me when I was a child and He’s cared for me throughout my entire life. Even the minor and insignificant things like the hairs on my head.

Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31