Reflections

You know how sometimes when you are doing something in the present, it takes you back to the past and to all the feelings that were there at that time?

That's what happened to me today as I was getting my daughters cut-hair ready to send to Locks of Love. 

It is so thick and soft and beautiful.
I remembered her as a little girl patiently waiting as I "fixed"her hair.
I remembered when she would "let" me touch her hair.

And how now she is a beautiful young woman.
That despite that beauty, to her it is only hair not who she is.
How thoughtful she is to donate her hair to help cancer victims,
growing it to share.

I also thought of her friend who was almost exactly the age my daughter is right now when she lost her battle with cancer.

And I was transported back to about four years ago.

I was driving home one day vocally complaining to myself about how I hated my hair.
I can't even remember exactly why.
It probably had to do with a recent haircut or a need for one.
I don't know, but I recall having a life changing moment.
I became aware of what I was doing.
I had a full head of hair.
I had no gray hair.
It always grew back.
But most importantly it was Gods gift to me.
And I was complaining.
How dare me!

Just a couple of weeks prior to that day my daughters friend was crying after school because some girls were mocking the scarf she was wearing to cover her hair loss.
I do not think they understood the cruelness of their actions, nevertheless it had a devastating effect on a sweet, innocent spirit.
What would my whining sound like to her?

I am ashamed to say how shallow and selfish I was that day in my car.
What was I thinking?
Or not? 
I have tried to remember my daughters dear friend and the many profound lessons she taught me in a very short time.
I have tried to be grateful for the many blessings God has bestowed upon me, including my hair.
Mainly I hope that I have put my life in a more proper perspective now.

And I hope and pray that whomever gets some of my daughters hair will feel the love that it was given with.


"No matter what circumstances you sisters experience, your influence can be marvelously far-reaching. I believe some of you have a tendency to underestimate your profound capacity for blessing the lives of others. More often than not, it is not on the stage with some public pronouncement but in your example of righteousness and the countless gentle acts of love and kindness done so willingly, so often on a one-to-one basis."
--James E. Faust