Haircuts and God

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to go to PA and speak to two churches and to see many of my old friends. It was exciting for me to be able to go and visit my spanish teacher from high school because she was able to appreciate all that I have learned in the ways of the spanish language.

Yesterday, I had my hair cut for Locks of Love. You could check out their website at http://www.locksoflove.org/
I didn't realize how attached I'd become to my long hair until the hairdresser measured it off and asked me, "Are you ready?". Of course, the reason I grew it out so long was for the purpose of cutting it for Locks of Love. Hence, I gave her the okay and listened as the scissors snipped away. And now of course, I am happy with my shorter, lighter, and new hairstyle. This may seem a bit stretched, but I think we can learn a spiritual lesson from all this.

Many times I have let sin grow in my life. Always telling myself that it must leave and I can't allow it take over my life and continue. But yet, I am passive and do nothing. And it grows, does it ever grow! Before long, I can't remember ever being in a time when I did not have this sin as a part of my life. It has become a part of me. Many who know me, are aware that I can be very sarcastic in a put-down kind of fashion. I am not proud of this, but this characteristic became so much a part of who I was that I could no longer have a conversation without throwing in a sarcastic comment here or there. Then one day, you look in the mirror and it hits you, this big, ugly sin staring you right in the face. (not that I ever really looked in the mirror and thought my long hair was a big, ugly sin...) Thankfully, God doesn't let us just deal with our sin passively, He helps us face it and then, the most amazing part, He takes our sins and forgets them.
Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
And I think, "Am I ready?" Am I ready to submit this to God and to let it go? Am I ready to live without this burden? I praise God for His patience with me. Because sometimes I back down at the last minute and clutch that sin right back in my hand and never fully let it go. When the hairdresser cut my hair, and handed it to me, I couldn't tell her to put it back on, tell her I had changed my mind and I wanted my hair back. The deed was done. Likewise, when we give something to God, the deed is done, don't ask for it back. You've cut it from your life, it's not meant to be reattached. I challenge you, the next time you're struggling to give something to God that you think about what it means to really submit it, and remember, you can't take it back, it's cut off. Time for a new, lighter, free life! God bless!