A Tangled Mess

I have a story to tell that led to a great epiphany to where I find my life these days. Promise not to laugh? Ok, go ahead but be prepared for God’s awesomeness.

It all started with an unexpected but much appreciated day off. Since I am not home on a regular basis I decided that today would be a day to catch up on my “to do” list. After homemade breakfast with my roommate (breakfast burritos = tasty) and a long overdue phone date with a dear friend, I made a list of my tasks for the day.

I was moving right along checking things off left and right when I decided it was time to shower. It was nearly noon and time to run errands around town.

I was drying my hair with a round brush that wasn’t working the way I wanted it to so I switched to a different brush. The chunk of hair I was working with proceeded to get tangled around the brush. I pulled and the tangle tangled tighter. I pulled again and it hurt.

Frustrated and perplexed, I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn’t decide whether to laugh, cry or yell. I nearly panicked at the thought of having to cut my hair free. That’s the last thing I wanted to do.

So I composed myself and asked my self “What would MacGyver do?“ Most of my hair was still wet accept for the part that was stuck in the brush. I literally let the brush go and it just hung there like a bug stuck in a spider web.

MacGyver mode kicked in. I decided to keep wetting my hair under the shower faucet in hopes that the wet strands would aid in freeing themselves. I tugged and pulled and winced. One… two… three times my head went under the faucet. I tugged and pulled and winced some more but had to take a break. I looked in the mirror at the still tangled mess and said “this is what my life feels like right now.” I felt defeated and nearly started to cry. I wanted to quit and cut my hair accept I felt a peace come over me.

My life does feel like a tangled, messy, jumbled mess. There appears to be no resolution in sight. There has been so much change this year I feel raw, fragile and broken. Sometimes I just want to give up.

As the last strand of hair came free, I sensed the Lord say, “Just like your hair came free even when it seemed impossible, so your life will move from what you think is a jumbled mess and you will experience freedom. Be patient. Trust me. The end is near.”

What would have happen to my hair if I decided to quit and cut it all free (other than an emergency run to a hair salon and bruised ego)?

This season has been hard, to say the least. Friendships and other pertinent relationships have been changed or lost. I see a series of tough decisions to be made in the near future that seem to have no answers. I am in a season of life where nothing makes sense. I can’t see a reason for all this change. I am not happy and I don’t how to get myself there. I am not patient and the name of the game is none other than WAIT. (Wow writing that sure sounds selfish-guess I need Jesus.)

To add insult to injury, the ONE voice I have so desperately needed to hear seems to be silent. I am tired. I am worn out. I am frustrated.

What on earth is God doing?

Who knew it would take an incident of a tangled mess of hair and a brush to speak insight into my situation?

The moral of the story: make sure you use the right brush to dry your hair…

In all seriousness, today’s fiasco taught this: stay calm, be patient, persevere and never, no matter the circumstances, give up. Yes it might hurt and stretch and pull you in ways you didn’t think were possible. There is a reason for the wait and struggle. If you take the easy way out you will miss some of the greatest blessings in disguise. Don’t forget in the dark what you learned in the light! God is good and He loves you. It’s in your best interest to let Him.

I seem to be hearing THIS song on a regular basis and thank Laura Story for penning such an honest and vulnerable lyric that speaks to my heart even when I can’t find the words. I encourage you to take a listen and allow the Holy Spirit to challenge and convict you.

And please brush wisely or face your own tangled mess 

Bless you all.

E