Bad Hair Day Kind of Year!

Where do I begin?

It seems so silly to have a post all about my hair but I have been getting so many questions that maybe I can answer most of them all at once. I didn't just cut my hair for no reason, I like long hair too much to do that.

I realize now that the story really begins way back in high school. I started getting sick and I was actually losing handfuls of my hair. I think God was trying to teach me something then but it took me until now to understand the lesson. I became pretty wrapped up in my thinning hair, even buying hair extensions because I was so embarrassed. After high school and a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, I made a number of changes in my diet and began to feel better and my hair started growing back. I was SO happy to have hair that was growing and getting thick again!

Ok, skipping forward a bit. This summer I had a revelation about my hair. Yes about my hair! Weird! I know.  God spoke to me about being willing to sacrifice anything for Him even if it didn't make sense to me. I felt Him asking me very clearly, "If I asked you to cut your hair would you do it?" I spent a week praying about this and yes crying A LOT. I was shocked by how many tears I shed just for my hair. Of all things my hair! And why my hair? Maybe because it was something so important to me. Although, before this I never realized how important my hair was to me. God was speaking to me about where my confidence came from, revealing to me how much value I put into physical things (like my hair) and how I needed to make some major shifts to focus back on Him and not my appearance.

I believe I learned a lot and really grew from that revelation in June, but apparently God wasn't finished with me!  I had completely forgotten about my "hair saga" and was enjoying everything about my missions trip to Mozambique and I met a young girl named Thelma. Thelma really tugged on my heart and for so many reasons I really liked her without even really knowing her. Then one day Thelma was joking around and told me (through someone translating) that she liked my hair and asked if I would cut it off and give it to her. She wanted to weave it into her own hair. I laughed and thought nothing of it until a few days later she asked again, this time accompanied by her mother.

Again, I laughed but only after I walked away did I realize God was still working on my "hair saga". While walking away from Thelma and her mother I felt God remind me of everything that He'd spoken in June and I felt Him say to me, "This time isn't  just a question. You've come to Mozambique to give away Audio Bibles, running shoes, and dresses, but this is what she's asked you for. What if this is the greatest expression of my love and sacrifice Thelma ever receives?"

I was completely blown away! But still embarrassed by how silly it all seemed. My hair? Really? After talking a long time with Kristen Rider and praying about it for a few days I came to the conclusion that whether I understood it or not I would be the one missing out on the blessings that God had for me in this next season of my life if I didn't obey. Also, whether Thelma could really use my hair or not wasn’t my concern. It was about me taking the next step into what God had planned for me.

So that's that! I now have really short hair. I am not entirely sure what God is doing with my hair but I do know that I have learned a lot about my identity. I am His creation and as cheesy as it may sound, I’m learning that  beauty is way more than appearance. Also, God works in mysterious ways I'm learning this more and more every day. I don't need to understand or  agree with the things He asks me to do, I need to trust Him and make sacrifices when He asks.  I know this will lead to a more rewarding and fulfilling life in the long run. Trust.

 

During the trip with one of my teammates:

After:

"If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you."-- Marmee, Little Women

Click HERE to watch video and pictures from our trip.