I have never liked my hair. Not even when I was four-years-old and my golden locks rivaled those of Rupunzel. Oh, I liked the length, and when it was properly curled and styled I pretended to be a princess…but I did not like the tangles…and even less did I enjoy the pain and aggravation caused by the untangling process.
My mom, being the one who had to listen to my whining protests, decided that my long hair had to go. This decision was made when I was in the fourth-grade, and it was one with which I agreed.
Oh, but there was a downside…I was in grade four during the year of the mullet. Not only is the mullet an eye sore, it is a lot of work. My hair still easily knotted in the back and a brush was no longer the sole implement required to style my baby fine tresses. Each morning my mom had to stand over me with a hot curling iron to make the top portion of my head look more feminine.
Fast-forward 25 years and you will still find me complaining about my hair. I have dyed it various shades of blond, including platinum. In my attempts for the perfect shade, my hair has been green, creamsicle orange, purple, gray, and pink…all unintended. I have also wore my hair in myriad styles: short and bobbed, long and spiral permed, short and spiral permed, pixie, etc.
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”
Philippians 2:13-15 (New International Version)
Once, as I sat in the home of a former stylist eagerly waiting for her to transform me into a super model with just a few clips from her scissors, (I tend to have high expectations) she said the most peculiar thing to me.
“You are so lucky to have straight, fine hair.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…I wouldn’t wish this hair on anyone, plus what is with my crazy hair line in the back that grows upward…and that hideous cowlick?”
“It’s much better than having hair like mine…it’s so thick and coarse.”
I looked at her long, thick, perfectly coiffed blond hair and giggled.
“This is too funny,” I said. “You have my dream hair!”
“Well, I guess we all want what we don’t have,” she replied.
How true that is. For sheep, the grass is always greener on the other side…for women, the hair is always prettier on the other head!
Moreover, it does not stop with hairstyles. Why is it so much easier for me to want something I cannot have than to thank Jesus for the many gifts I possess? I take so much for granted.
Instead of griping about the hair I have, I should be thanking the Lord that I can brush my hair every morning without clumps of it falling to the floor, which is what many women suffering with cancer face daily.
Instead of feeling annoyed by my stained sofa, I should pour out my heart in thanksgiving that I have a family with whom to cuddle with on that sofa and watch movies.
So while the grass may appear greener, hair prettier, furniture grander, homes bigger, and figures thinner…I’m going to try really hard to not be so interested in the proverbial other side. I am going to focus on how to make my inside look more like Jesus and foster a spirit of thankfulness for all He has given me.