A Small Part of God's Intention

I spent some time this morning looking at the Locks of Love website as part of my preparation for speaking with the girls at church on Wednesday night. On the site is a gallery of both the donors and recipients (with their permission). Two things struck me. 1) How young some of the donors are, and 2) How beautiful these kids are with their hair.

Some of the before and after pictures are really striking. Looking at them reminded me of some of my thoughts at the first of my cancer journey; mainly, that sickness and disease is not part of God's original design. He intended wholeness and health; he intended kids and people to have hair (I am not talking hair style choices here, though I admit I hope my girls don't go there).

At the same time, I know, believe, and am confident that God looks at our heart, not our hair. The spirit and character of these kids...my kids...MYSELF...is what matters. I believe scripture teaches that, and I am in a refresher course on the topic myself. Yet, there is something about bald kids that is just not right. Seeing their photos, both the starkness of their hair loss and the beauty of their new hair drove that home to me. Don't get me wrong, please! These kids are beautiful without their hair, too. But, seeing them with their new hair seems "right." Like it is "supposed to be". And, I think that is in part, not just our culture, but because God intended it that way.

I think I will start my talk with the girls at this point. God created us wth hair. Sometimes disease takes it away. By helping these kids restore their hair, they also help restore their spirit, courage and esteem that God also originally intended us to have. I hope I can help the girls see that their contribution of hair is not just for the sake of "vanity", but in some way, they are helping these kids experience life as God intended it.

If you want to take a look at the website yourself, it is www.locksoflove.org