My daughter loves to get new hair styles. I’m still not sure where she gets it from, because I barely like to comb my hair. Shortly after she was born, I cut it low enough so that all I have to do is wash it and go. It’s been one of the best styles I’ve adopted for myself. When my friends and family learned that I was having a girl, they seriously started worrying about what would happen to her hair, because they knew me and knew that I did not have those skills.
Fast forward to now. I am a mother of a child who loves to have her hair done in new styles. Oy. She sees these fantastic dos and expects me to be able to recreate them. Double oy. I’ve been able to master one hair style, done in different ways, which she loves. But then my friend did braids in her hair, which she’s been asking for again. So, yesterday, I promised her a surprise (everything is a surprise in our home). I was going to attempt this style of braiding. I dutifully sat there and did the best I could, and if I may say so, it didn’t come out too badly. What surprised me was the enthusiasm that my daughter received her hairstyle with. She didn’t mind that the parts weren’t perfect and some braids were bigger than some, for her it was the style she wanted, that her mother was finally able to do.
I started realizing that I can do all things. Not by my strength of course, but by learning to lean on the Holy Spirit, He’s teaching me that all things are possible. Even in the simplicity of being able to comb my daughter’s hair in a style that no one (including me) believed that I’d be able to do. Philippians 4:13 states “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
What are you doubting that you can do? I’ve had many doubts as to what I can accomplish, but when I’ve leaned into God’s strength, as opposed to my own, I realize that the impossible becomes possible, even in something as being able to comb my daughter’s hair.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your strength and the abilities you give us when you trust you. Help us to not stand still in doubt, but to trust that with you, all things are possible, and to move forward in faith and confidence that you will perfect your will for our lives.