I like many of you can’t believe I actually cut my hair. *gasp*
Yes, I actually did it! I haven’t been this bald since I was a baby…yes I was a
bald baby. Everyone that knows me or that has been following me on social media
for some time knows that I LOVE to switch up my hair. One day long straight
hair, the next braid, faux dreads, puff, braided bob, afro, twist, tapered fro
and now the FADE! I’ve always loved and
admired the fade on women and felt as if the displayed a unique sense of confidence.
Yes, you can be confident with all of the hairstyles listed above, but there’s
a “different” type of confidence that a woman with a fade exudes. I secretly
wished I possessed it, but for the longest I didn’t. People would always tell
me that I could pull off any hairstyle and I believed it with the exception of
my new hairstyle. “My head is too big”, “What if I have a funny shaped head?” “I’m
going to look like a boy.” “I’m cute, but not that cute” “My forehead is huge” “and
so many other random thoughts kept me from making moves to chop my “glory off”.
(SN: I don’t agree with the statement a woman’s hair is her glory, my glory is
found in Christ…proceed) So, over the
last 9 months I’ve been working up the courage to finally take the BIG STEP and
get my second BIG CHOP! On October 28, 2015, I committed and followed through
with my decision to cut my hair! Days before cutting my hair, during my quiet
time, God revealed to me the beautiful parallel of my hair cut and accepting
salvation. He told me, “There is depth to the cut”. I know, I know, it sounds
like a pretty big stretch. I get it, but keep reading and I show you how the
dots connect.
1. 1. It’s always been like this…
I’ve always had hair for as long as I can
remember… (I can’t remember when I was a baby lol). Anyways, people have always
described me as light skin Gabby with the green eyes and long hair/fro. You
see, my hair was a part of my identity, a part of me in a sense. I shared this
same mentality when it came to who I was as a person and how I carried myself
before Christ. “This is just who I am.” “I’ve always been like this.” You see,
I identified with the things I had always done, and felt as if that’s how
others identified me as well.
2. 2. You caught my eye…
Scrolling on Instagram I see tons of
natural hair pictures and the big chop pictures always draw me in. I want to
see how the individual’s hair was before, how much it’s grown, and I can’t help
but admired it. I’m always inspired to say the least. You see, something caught
my eye just like Christ caught my attention. I would see His children living
lives committed to him and I would be inspired and amazed at how God moved in
their lives. I was intrigued at what God was able to do. My curiosity had been
sparked.
3. 3. But what if…
Ok, so I love the cut, but it’s such a big
commitment. Once I go for it, there’s no going back. I can’t just get a sew-in
or braid it up. Likeeeee I don’t know if I can do it. Like I said earlier…“My
head is too big”, “What if I have a funny shaped head?” “I’m going to look like
a boy.” “I’m cute, but not that cute” “My forehead is huge” I was overall
HESITANT. This same hesitation was present when it came to making a decision
to follow Christ. I mean I saw the lives of other Christians, but you know it’s
such a big commitment. “What if I mess up.” “I’ll never get it together.” “I
still struggle with this or that” “I’ll never sound or look like her” etc. You
know how it goes…excuses, because of fear.
4. 4. Damage that I have…
One of the main reasons my hair needed to
be cut was because of heat damage. And spiritual damage was the reason I needed
salvation. Heat damage can’t be repaired as much as the shampoos and natural
hair blogs may try and convince you otherwise. And spiritual damage can’t be
repaired by just going to church and participating on various ministries. Heat
damage couldn’t be seen when my hair was straight and styled, and my spiritual
damage couldn’t be seen just looking at me. You see damage is not always
visible to the human eye, yet that doesn’t negate the fact that it is present.
5. 5. I’s just tired…
Do you ever just get tired? Tired of the
same ole’ same ole’. Tired of the same
mess, annoyed with the damage. Burnt out. Yeah, me too. That’s how I felt about
my hair and my spiritual life. I was tired of dealing with damaged goods.
6. 6. Dealing with the opinions of others…
When I shared that I wanted to cut my hair,
I got a lot of different comments. “Are you sure you want to do that?” “Your
hair is your glory.” “You’re grown, do what you want.” “I’ll have another
brother.” “No man will want you now.” Etc… The opinions of others weren’t
expressed when it came to my salvation until after the decision had been made. I
heard a couple of different things. These opinions could have hurt me or caused
me to revert on my decision if I hadn’t made up my mind prior to discussing
these things with others.
7. 7. Commit to the commitment..
This is where the “magic” happens…I made a
commitment to cut my hair and went with it. I made a decision to follow Christ
and followed through with it…knowing the cost. The decision to have healthy
hair meant I had to cut everything off and the decision to accept Christ as my
savior meant I had surrendered everything. God is continually “trimming my ends”
and cutting off the damaged parts in my spiritual life.
I know that was a lot, but maybe the dots
are connected now. When God gave me this I was just like wowwwww. I pray it
touched you and impacted you in the same way that it touched me. If me talking
about getting a fade can be used as a means to bring you to Christ, then so be
it! God have your way.
Be blessed,
G. Goforth
@justgoforth
