Bearded Compliments

Recently I have been the recipient of several compliments. All having to do with my appearance. More specifically, all having to do with my facial hair. At first I was getting great compliments about the way that it looked. But I should have suspected something when all of them came from youth, more specifically from male youth between the ages of 15-18. If you have been following me on Twitter or are one of my friends on Facebook you might have seen that I have been growing out what I like to call a "man-beard". A man beard is simply facial hair that is grown out with little to no grooming with the hopes of being mistaken for a lumberjack. But on Father's day it would all change. Upon completion of my Father's day meal I took a pic and posted it on Twitpic, and much to my horror the beard looked grotesque and unsightly. This sparked me to shave it. Which in turn led to more "compliments", one as recent as today. Normally I would accept them with open arms basking in the radiance of people showering me with greatness. But these compliments in particular have been somewhat......how do I say it......RUDE!!!! The first one was on Saturday night while at church. This one, might I add, is more forgivable because it came from an 11 year old boy. While in conversation with the boy's father he decided to compliment me on my recent shave. "I see you shaved," said the boy. "It looks like you shaved thirty years off of your life." I didn't know how to respond to that. Did he just give me a reverse compliment? The other one was so graciously bestowed upon me by the check-in worker at the YMCA. You know the place where people go to exercise and feel better about themselves? Well before I could even begin to think better about myself the trend of "compliments" continued. As I handed my key chain for her to scan she looked at me oddly for a second and then her eyes became bright and she asked me if I had a beard the previous week. I told her that I did but that it was uncomfortable because of the heat. A lie of course. Then she said it. She said the most unexpected form of a compliment that I have ever received. Instead of saying, "You look good", or "What an amazing jaw line". She said, "Well......keep shaving." Keep shaving!?! What was that supposed to mean? Was that even meant to be nice. I had nothing to say in response. I was in shock. So I looked like a freak with my beard and now I look like Brad Pitt to you lady? What the heck!?!

From there I went. On with my day. On with my life trying to comprehend what has been going on with these people. I have come to two conclusions from this whole experience. One is that no one I know knows how to give a genuine compliment, and two I need to stop looking for compliments. I am only going to let myself down. I need to find value from God, not from others around me. If I look for it from others I will be hugely disappointed as you all have seen from this blog entry. Only God has the real view of you and it is one of love, respect, loyalty, honesty, and I could go on and on. So look to Him and you will be fine.