It’s bedtime and she hears me coming. Her words – more measured than panicky – are out before I step in her bedroom.
“Mama, I have a…a…a hair situation.”
I round the corner and walk inside her room and see yes, she does indeed have a hair situation.
The entire front section of her waist-long hair – right above her forehead – is wrapped and wrapped and wrapped around a comb, right up to an inch from her scalp.
She’s jerking at it, but tangled comb remains taunt, not going anywhere. She sees my eyes widen.
Tugging at the comb again, she says,
“I’m so sorry , Mama! I was trying to curl it. But, ya know, I didn’t know I couldn’t curl it with a comb.”
She squeezes her eyes shut, needing to ask the next question but afraid to,
“Are we gonna have to…to cut it out?”
I bite my lip and take hold of the tangled mess. I try to unwind it this way and that, but no can do.
“I don’t know, baby. Hopefully not.”
I work with it and work with it but get nowhere. David comes in from outside, asks what’s the matter. I point to the rat’s nest in my hand, and after watching me work with it a bit, he asks if he can give it a go. I hand it over with the detangler spray.
He massages detangler into a small section, tries to unwind the end. He’s making as little progress as I did. I just don’t see any way around cutting her hair, so I’m already trying to figure out a new hairstyle for her. My thoughts are off and running:
Maybe super short bangs would work? Somehow? Maybe I can schedule an appointment with my hair gal and she can salvage some sort of decent style…
I lean close to David and whisper real quiet over her head,
“Do you think we need to cut it out?” I cringe just thinking of cutting all that hair so close to the scalp.
He examines the comb more closely and looks up at me,
“Well, would you mind if I cut up the comb?”
I smile real big at this idea, the one I never thought of. Yes! Just maybe that will work!
“Of course not! Cut away!”
David grabs pliers from the toolbox. Tooth by tooth, section by section, he and I take turns removing parts of the comb. And section by section, bit by bit, her hair unwinds. The comb is 50 broken little pieces, but Faith’s hair is intact. It took time and patience, but the hair. was. saved. Hallelujah!
Drama done, I can’t help but laugh at the lesson God sends me through the hairy ordeal. While I gave it a go at untangling the mess, I was ready to throw in the towel and consent to just cutting her hair. From my point of view, it seemed like the only way to free the comb. It seemed the only way to get the desired end result. But David knew a way that would not only free the comb, but do so with the best possible result. True, it took more time and patience, but it was so worth it. The comb was out, the hair was saved.
Sometimes, life is like this. A situation arises, and our thoughts are off and running to the worst case scenerio. We grasp for quick answers. But when we don’t give into the quick fix – when we slow down, examine things for a bit longer, and hang in there for the long haul – we find results that blissfully satisfy more than we could ever imagine.
When all we can see is the hairy ordeal, may we remember to slow down. May we remember to seek God’s wisdom because His plans yield the best results. May we all have the patience to persevere.
What a great lesson! So glad the hair could be saved. Isn’t it funny how men can see a situation totally different than we can? It’s amazing sometimes 🙂
Oh yes it is!
Love this! It reminds me of the time when my older sister tried to curl my hair using one of those curling irons that look like round brushes. She got it stuck in my hair really badly and started to try and get it out. Around the 10 minute mark I asked “why is my head getting so hot” turns out “she had forgotten to unplug it before she started to try and detangle the mess”. I cannot for the life of me remember how we got it out in the end, or what happened to that section of hair. But it is forever a funny story shared between sisters.
Oh, the messes we girls get ourselves into! Love this story, Victoria.
You always make me smile, friend. 🙂 Love you!
Love you, Holley. SO much.
What a great lesson! Get rid of the tangler instead of the entangled!
Ohmygolly, Amy, I love the way you summed that up!
I love this! This story made me think of a friend of mine that as an adult got a round brush stuck in the front of her head on the morning of an important job interview. :/ Thanks for the memory and the lesson. I love it when people allow God to teach them lessons trough the everyday happenings of life. I pray that my eyes and heart are open to these important lessons each day.
That’s my prayer too, Tracey ~ beautifully said.
O what a GREAT story with a happy ending! Your daughter’s hair is exactly how I feel emotionally right now as we are about to move to another home 40 minutes North of the city for good reasons. How is it possible to feel excited and scared at the same time. Anyway, that’s how I feel and my back is hurting and telling me to relax. With God’s help, I will get through this because He is faithful. Thank you for sharing your heart with mine. Now I’ve shared mine with yours. So glad we can connect. Thank you for listening and for understanding.
And I’m so glad you did share yours with me ~ your heart shines.
And girl, I totally get those “excited and scared” feelings that come rolling in all at once. I’ve experienced the exact same thing with several of our moves. I just *know* you will shine in your new home just as brightly as you did in your former one!
great story… and so glad you saved her hair from a ‘new hair do’… isn’t it wonderful to know there is always a second choice even if we don’t see it at first?
I love the lesson you found in this! What a terrific (emphasis on the “terror” root of that word) story. Praise God for a husband with a cool and creative head!
So much wisdom from tangled hair and a comb. 😉 Excellent insight, though – thanks for sharing and reminding us that our way is not always the best way. Sometimes we need to slow down and let God show us another/better path.
Oh my goodness! Good thinking on your husband’s part! I would’ve probably put a movie on, slathered it in mayo, and tried to get it out strand by strand. I did that with my brother’s hair when we were kids: I had top bunk and he had curly hair, I wrapped my fingers in his hair and he kept spinning. My mom used a steak knife to cut us loose.
Oh my goodness! Good thinking on your husband’s part! I would’ve probably put a movie on, slathered it in mayo, and tried to get it out strand by strand. I did that with my brother’s hair when we were kids: I had top bunk and he had curly hair, I wrapped my fingers in his hair and he kept spinning. My mom used a steak knife to cut us loose.
(hmm…it said this was a duplicate post, but I’ll try it again)
Is it weird that sometimes I sorta wish you were my mom?
HA! I love you so much.