Gray Hair

At the start of the pandemic, life came to a screeching halt!  All non-essential business doors were closed.  When my hair stylist had to close her shop, at first, I felt a bit of “panic”.  Although my hair only requires a trim, I was more concerned about my hair color.  For 30 plus years, I had my hair colored.  In my twenties, I was one of the “fortunate” people to start turning gray.  At first, I had it highlighted.  As time went on, it became a trip to the salon every six weeks.  It was hours of preparation, solutions, chemicals to obtain the desired effect.

As the pandemic drew out longer and longer, my hair grew too.  At first, there was a gray root streak on the top of my head.  I started to notice predominant sparkles.  Then, as weeks turned to months, I had a three inch growth of salt and pepper.  At that point, I made the decision to be authentic and keep my natural hair color.

For some time God has been speaking to my heart about being authentic; real in every area of my life.  Being honest, I have struggled (like many women) with my self-esteem. I am my worst critic and tend to judge myself harshly.  At some point, I bought into the cultural lie that I could not be beautiful unless I dyed my hair, tanned my body, did excessive workouts to stay fit.  Working in corporate America a number of years, only cemented this mindset.  It is a lie.  A trap. Let me clarify, I don’t judge anyone for coloring their hair, staying in shape or tanning.  It was about my heart attitude.  I was more concerned with the way people looked at my outward appearance and what they thought, than what God thought about me, my heart.  

God has been performing surgery on my mind and heart attitude.  “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) I am created by God, in His image.  He created me uniquely to be me, gray hair and all.  There is a new found freedom and benefits in embracing this change.  I am saving over hundreds of dollars a year and not exposing myself to potentially harmful chemicals. I am also learning that true beauty comes from the inside.  I am beautiful,  lovely, loved and valued just the way I am.