shaving

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Every Man Wishes For A Close Shave

Today I cut the grass at my cottage; it had been five weeks since it had been clipped. As I got out my weed whacker and started trimming the edges, I thought, “Man, I wish I could trim it a little shorter.”

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That’s when I realized that one of the things men want most in life is a close shave. It doesn’t matter if it’s on our faces or the grass at the edge of our lawns, we just want a close shave!

We are always in search of something, some gadget or gimmick that will get us a closer shave.

The other day, I saw a commercial for a blade you can put on a weed whacker that’s supposed to get closer to the edges, trim down further, even get in-between the slats in your fence.

I found myself thinking, “I’ve got to get me one of those. I need to shave my lawn closer.”

We do it with razors, too. Gillette keeps coming out with more blades, pivoting heads or slippery stuff that moves the blades along. And it’s all to give us a closer shave.

We want to feel like we don’t have to shave as often. We want to go two days before someone says, “Hey, you didn’t shave today, did you?”

There are all kinds of razors out there, even ones you can take in the shower (not sure why you’d want to) that come with micro blades that whirl around to give you a pretty close shave.

I bought an electric razor because sometimes I don’t want to get out my blade razor and take the time to lather up. Sometimes a quick once-over the face with an electric will do the trick.

I have one that has triple-action floating heads. It purrs like a kitten. The first time I used it, I got a close shave – maybe too close … the next morning my face still stung from the feeling of having a thin layer of skin removed from the surface.

But that’s okay, I’m not complaining. I like that I got a close shave – that’s what we men are looking for.

And I know that we haven’t arrived at the closest thing yet. We still know that, out there somewhere, someone has an idea that will get us even closer!

I know that when someone designs a tool that will get me a few microns closer, or when a blade comes on the market that will clip those hard-to-get-to places on my lawn, I’ll be wanting it.

Some day I can picture us using lasers to clip hairs from our face and cut our lawn painlessly and in one swoop.

Oh, wouldn’t that be nice to get your face up close to a device that removes your hair right to the nubbies … and then you could just turn the dial up a few notches if you wanted a facelift.

Here’s the thing: We may never be satisfied with how close a shave we can get. We may always be looking for something closer. Well, that’s how we should be with our relationship with Christ. Have you become satisfied with it? Is your relationship with Christ “close enough”? That should never be. We should always be searching, looking, striving for how we can develop a closer relationship, closer walk with Him.

That’s Life!
Paul

Question: What part of your relationship with Christ are you not satisfied with? Leave your comment below.

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How Real Change Happens From Within

I made a big change in my appearance the other day. I didn’t get a new suit or comb my hair differently … I just shaved my whole face.

It’s the first time I’ve done that in almost thirty years. Since 1984 I’ve had a moustache and for the last 15 years I’ve had a goatee. But on December 1st, I shaved it all off!

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I had to take a second and third look at myself in the mirror to make sure it was really me staring back. It was hard not to smile and repeat the words, “Oh boy” as in, “Oh boy, what have I done?!”. But I’m going to give it a little time to get used to it.

One thing I’m not getting used to is shaving. It’s not that there is more real estate to take care of now, we’re only talking about a face. But, I have scars on my face from hockey that have to be considered now.

I’ve had 5 stitches beside my right eye and 3 stitches on my right eyelid. Then I had 3 stitches on the left corner of my mouth from a fight with Neil Lumsden, who was just inducted into the CFL Football Hall of Fame. Besides those, I had 4 stitches under my bottom lip and 3 stitches on the left corner of my chin.

The last three scars come into play when I shave. I haven’t had to bother with them for so long, but now I have to navigate around my face like it’s a land mine to keep me from nicking myself with the razor.

Though my face doesn’t look like Gerry Cheevers’ goalie mask, I do have a few marks that ensure I stay attentive when I have a sharp instrument in hand near my melon.

It all changes how I look, and it’s taking some getting used to it. I might grow it all back, but I’m going to wait and give it some time to sink in.

I’m finding I have to keep telling myself that I look different but I’m the same guy.

… And others have weighed in on the change whether they know it or not. Some people have said nothing which means they probably don’t like it. I’ve had lots of people acknowledge that I’ve shaved, but no comment on what they think of it. That’s probably a bad sign too.

One person came out and just said he didn’t like it. My daughter saw a picture and said “Wow! He looks so different, yet the same.”  And my son said, “That’s going to take some serious getting used to.”

Both Lily and I aren’t sure what to think. I think I’m looking at my brother when I look in the mirror and I start to laugh. I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Here’s the thing: Shaving my face hasn’t changed who I am one bit. I’m still the same guy on the inside. But making a change on your inside will result in outward change.

A Christian is first changed on the inside and then that change is made visible in his or hers appearance through actions, attitudes and words. So when we look in the mirror, we should ask ourselves, “Is my outside appearance matching my inside appearance?”

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What outward change have you made that elicited lots of attention? Leave your comment below.