GRAY HAIR!
I am not sure when Mary Jane's hair changed but I know it was when we were young and perhaps while in highschool. Her hair was dark but a clump of her hair at the middle of her forehead turned white. Of course she hated it and I always thought it looked not only interesting but very glamourous, not to mention she stood out in a crowd. I thought it was beautiful! The wicked lady in '101 Dalmatian's' had that white streak in her hair! Of course it has nothing to do with character or personality because Mary Jane is still one of my best friends. A friend suggested she could get rid of her streak if she wanted to and she did!

It has been said that worry can cause premature gray hair! I understand that 30 for men and 35 for women is usually when the first signs of gray appear. However further studies show that gray can appear as young as in the teens, like Mary Jane. I think the jury is still out on whether stress is the cause of premature gray hair. Some believe it is a factor, while others think there needs to be more research, even though it has been noted that graying has accelerated among patients under stress. Personally I felt stressed when my graying accelerated!

One report says; "It's not your kids that are making you go gray! Your hair is simply building up too much hydrogen peroxide which is produced naturally. The HP interferes with melanin, the pigment that colors our hair and skin. Also the enzyme catalase is a factor. Not to mention that it is also inherited and for the most part will happen as we age!

Several times in Genesis in the story of Jacob losing Joseph and when the brothers want to take Benjamin with them when they return to Egypt where Joseph was, the term; "would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow", is used. What do you suppose that means? Perhaps, because Jacob was an old man, it merely meant that he felt he would probably die because of his sorrow. Gray hair is synonymous with old age, not stress!

"Are not two sparrows, sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:39-30
Here, God doesn't address gray hair but He does tell us that we are important to Him because he knows just how many hairs we have. The hair on Jim's head is easy to count, but that doesn't make those with a heavy head of hair any more important. Praise the Lord!

I suppose stress and anxiety can account for many of our health issues and perhaps could help the process of turning gray because I remember my mother saying; "If you don't cut that out I will grow old before my time." Whatever that meant I am not sure, because I thought she was old then. I believe I have more gray hair than my mother did at my age.

In my old dictionary it says that stress is caused by pressure. This pressure could be trying to be accurate in making a point or perhaps the stress or strain of an object pulling against one another. However, anxiety is a condition of mental uneasiness. Being anxious is deeply concerned or apprehensive. Today we call it stress! Perhaps that is because the word stressed spelled backwards is 'desserts'! Could that be the remedy for being stressed?

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God". Philippians 4:6 We all have memorized this scripture and know that it is a truth, that Paul has given us, because he knows it works. It is easy to say, "to be anxious for nothing," but in our world being anxious has become second nature. "Let us set our minds upon things above and not on the things of this earth!" Colossians 3:2

Some days are good and some days are bad. Dwelling on circumstances brings depression, but giving the day to the Lord is giving back to Him that which belongs to Him anyway.
Jane Ann