“Surrender the Hair”—not a phrase I was anticipating coming across as I read Rachel Dawson’s recounting of a Nicaragua trip in her book entitled These Twelve Stones; however, this is the exact wording she chooses in an effort to express a memorable moment which occurred during a high school mission trip. The team of young women began using this phrase as a reminder to each other to engage in a prayerful mindset by recalling the story of John 12 whenever their fears of contracting head lice began to cripple how they approached the village children.

Rachel shares, “I preached to myself that while head lice are temporary, how I interact with the least of these is everlasting…Failing to fully embrace a child in my biggest and best hug, hesitating to give piggy back rides, and dodging little hands reaching to touch my short brown hair had become a default method of self-preserving my hair. Mary used her hair to wipe the Lord’s feet, and yet I wanted to withhold my hair for fear of a tiny inconvenience. I wept in that moment as I [chose to Surrender the Hair] to the God who is faithful to lovingly cleanse me of my selfishness over something as trivial as hair.”

Now, here I will gently disagree with Rachel that her hair is a trivial matter, for our hair serves many useful purposes while also having a significant impact on our self-image, just ask any of my friends and family who no longer have any! In his Father’s Day message, Greg Laurie shared that he is one of the first people to be made aware that it is indeed raining for he feels the droplets hitting his scalp long before his wife feels anything. Or think about the warning system hair provides—just before you whack your head into an object, that little sensation of danger might help slow your momentum—thus the reason for sliding pool noodles onto the camper slides. Hair provides insulation on a cold day—just ask a few Union basketball players what occurred at a gas pump when Coach B forgot his hat and hurriedly hopped back into the van on a bitterly cold recruiting trip. I’m sure there are hundreds of reasons we might list for viewing hair as a non-trivial matter!

All teasing aside, there is a significant connection between how we view ourselves and the tresses that fall from our scalps, especially for women. Witnessing first-hand friends and family who have faced the emotional struggle of when to take the plunge and shave the head during chemo, I will argue that we do indeed have a relationship with our hair that is far from trivial. Carla, my amazing stylist, is a God-send as she uses her talent to wash away the gray that each month seems to increase in abundance on my head, for she is fully aware that when I depart from her salon, the amazing transformation is a confidence booster—maybe not creating Holy Confidence, but not too far from it.

Most of us may not be asked to Surrender the Hair in our devotional times in Scripture, and yet, I believe Rachel’s story serves as a reminder that we all have things in our life, idols is even a term I would embrace, that we must hand over in order to live a flourishing life engaged in our God-given purpose. Perhaps, others might need to Surrender the [fill in the blank]—marital status…finances…achievement list…title…resume…athletic identity…the list is endless. We all have our unique struggles that the Enemy can use to derail our true purpose, for it is where we are most vulnerable, but Surrender the Hair does sound kind of catchy!

No matter what God may be asking you to Surrender today, consider spending some time in reflection and ask Him to reveal, like He did to Rachel and He has to me, any obstacles that exist in blocking your path to a flourishing life.

References:

Dawson, R. (2020). These twelve stones. Rachel Dawson.

Laurie, G. (2022, June 19). Dealing with depression. [Audio podcast]. Fresh Life Church. Retrieved from https://www.freshlife.church/messages/summer-at-fresh-life