Even the Hairs of your Head

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

Me at 6 months, 4 years, and 6 years old.

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 probably also because I spent way too much 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 Clampett as soon as I reached the age of 18. Fortunately, by the time I turned 18, I had grown out of my Elly May phase.

I was also a tomboy. I remember 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 last name was Query and I used to feel a little embarrassed by it, especially when people pronounced my name 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 in. 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. Either way, I believe God has worked it all out for my good and His glory. Overall, my life has been overwhelmingly filled with many more blessings than problems.

When I look back over my life, there are so many times and events that come to mind that bring a smile to my face, and many that make me shake my head and laugh! Like my first car. It didn’t have a “P” for “Park” and the emergency brake was broken. So to park the car, I carried a wedge to throw under the tire to keep the car from rolling. Sometimes I’d miss and I’d have to get out really fast, and hope the car wouldn’t roll too far before I could get the wedge and put it under the tire in time.

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. Ah, the mind of a 16 year old.

I graduated from high school in 1972 and that was the very same year 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 just please 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 navigation system. LOL

When I was in my 20s, I used to arm wrestle—and win. I got married at the age of 25, became a stepmom of two, traveled on our honeymoon to London, Paris, and Rome, and got seasick on my first cruise across the English Channel. I gave birth at 26 to our first daughter Michelle.

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

When I was in my 40s, 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. My travels included Tokyo, Japan; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Frankfurt, Germany.

In my 50s, I slept on the street in downtown Los Angeles with Michelle, 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, Mount Rushmore, and to a local maze where I was the first and only one in our family to finish all four mazes! I traveled to Times Square and the Empire State Building in NYC and stayed in a hotel in Times Square. I traveled to Chicago and stood on the Willis Tower 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!

In my 60s, I went indoor skydiving, walked on a glass skywalk over the Grand Canyon, traveled on several cruises to the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Alaska. I drove all different kinds of motorhomes all over the country, hundreds of miles, and enjoyed stopping and smelling the roses all along the way.

In my early 70s and fully retired since December 2023, Harold and I have enjoyed several cruises and motorhome trips since our retirement. Lord willing, we’re looking forward to new destinations and new travel adventures in the future. We’re thankful for all of God’s blessings in our lives, the gift of faith, the gift of family, and, most of all, salvation in Him.

Which brings me to why I decided to write. While I’ve just shared bits and pieces 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 in any way He sees fit to help 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 by trusting in traditions instead of Jesus, or by holding on to our sin, or by any number of reasons, really. 

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 demonstrate His power and to draw us closer to Him.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so 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, 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 throughout my entire life, even before I came to know Him, and up to and including the present.

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 we know 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 are perfect in every way, and that God does not make mistakes.

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

God sought me and He bought me with His redeeming love. He sent His Son Jesus to die for me. He cared for me when I was a child and He has continued to care for me throughout my entire life; even the minor and insignificant things like the hairs on my head.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Buteven the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29