Ever Have a Bad Hair Day?

‘Bad Hair Day! I get it‘ – I think it each time I drive past one particular pasture on the highway littered with sheep, and, invariably,  I notice the tangled and matted ‘hair’ that ensconces them. Perhaps, that gives you an idea how often I lament the troubles of having curly hair and living in a rainy climate.

By ‘rainy climate’ I refer to the Pacific Northwest – and it is damp. Those of you with curly hair will understand – damp climates, moisture in the air, makes straightened, styled hair an impossibility for us with curls.

 

Our natural state is not always our most desirable state, as in the case of my curls.

The dilemma with curly hair is that moisture releases previously styled hair back to its most natural style – wild abandon, in my case! It doesn’t take much. A five minute walk through Pacific Northwest mists from my car to a store or dining establishment is all it takes for nature – chaos – curls – to ‘set’ in.

What do you and I do with those flaws that keep popping up and causing us angst?

As we near the end of January, we may be experiencing some extra bad hair days or just bad days, as many of us who made resolutions or plans may be waning (or failing, if you’re like me!), I thought I’d throw myself and you a lifeline – a small reminder –

God’s got this!

 

I don’t so much mean our hairdo’s – as I mean our mess ups, our confusions, our missteps and mistakes, our very heartaches.

The longer I am a Christian the more I find I need it – I crave it – I can’t do without it – ‘it’s’ grace, I’m talking about.

And, I don’t mean a once a week dose – I need it daily, hourly, moment-by-moment.  And, even though I need it, I often don’t offer grace to myself – because I’m too busy trying to ‘fix’ it (me, that is), or tweak the trouble (me, again!), instead of wait at God’s footstool and receive it – all that I need.

 

There is a Bible verse that reminds me of all this:

“but God shows His love for us, in that

while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..” Romans 5:8

 

The ‘Sandra J’ commentary for this verse might read…

“On our worst hair days, God loved us and gave Himself for us…”

 

Somehow this makes sense to me – it hits my emotional center, since how I look, sometimes translates into how I feel.

When I am at my worst – not just hair – but worst decision, worst mess up, worst parenting day (I’ve got quite a log of these), at my lowest points God offers me His very best.

A clean slate. A kind word. A second chance. His loving heart.

God takes us today – as we are – where we are – and offers us grace in our Here and Now. Our as is life.

Sometimes I just need to hear it again – that I can choose grace – undeserved favor for the place that I find myself. He’s not waiting for me to get it all together – He doesn’t want me to try to ‘look’ the part – He asks, rather, for my ‘as  is’ heart.

I can choose to forget my shame and even the untamed mass of out-of-control hair that I wore to church last week (if you witnessed it – pour some grace my way, please!).

Fresh starts. Straightened paths – curls or no.

May His grace be yours, this day.

Linking up with Holley’s CoffeeformyHeart, Deb’s Faith’nFriends, Lyli’s ThoughtProvokingThursdays, #ThisDayGodsWay, ,