What’s your favorite place to pray? That’s a question I’d been asking people and getting some great responses like “my car” or “the old sofa in the living room” or “at the kitchen table.” I was wondering what I’d say when I was rushing to pick up some lunch…and feeling a bit scruffy.
I walked by the barber’s and leaned in, “Jacob, do you have time to cut my hair?”
He put a finger to his lips and gestured, “Come in! Come in!” He slapped the chair with a towel, pinned a smock around my neck and took out his comb and clippers. “I’m so glad you could fit me in,” I said. Again he put a finger to his lips and pointed to a chair in the back where a guy was sitting with his head covered in warm towels, his feet up and his hands over his chest. You’d never seen anyone so relaxed.
“The guy fell asleep,” Jacob whispered, “so I figured I could do your hair while he rested.” Maybe because I was inspired by the guy with the warm towels—“Make sure you keep them warm” Jacob said to his assistant—or maybe because I was thinking of that question or maybe because Jacob was trying to be quiet, I decided, “A barber chair could be a place to pray.” I closed my eyes, breathed deeply, listened to the traffic outside and closed out the world. I thought of several people who needed a measure of peace in their lives, including myself. “Lord, have mercy” came the words of an old prayer. It went well with Jacob’s scissors.
Ten minutes later, Jacob whisked off the smock and I looked in the mirror, a new man. “Thanks,” I whispered and gave him a good tip. After all, he’d given me a good one. A barber chair is a great place to pray—as long as you can trust your barber with your hair while you’re working on trusting God!
