My grandmother took me to the beauty shop to have my hair permed for the first time when I was in third grade. I needed a booster seat to sit in the chair.
It’s such a distinctive smell, the scent of perming hair, but they covered over it (or tried to) with coconut-scented solutions and apple-scented conditioners, and this is what brings back the memories.
One whiff of coconut or apple beauty products even now and I’m still thinking of curlers, cotton wraps over the forehead and behind the ears, a plastic bag holding it all in and tied in a knot to the side, and time with my head stuck in a huge bubble of a dryer with the roar of hot air drowning out the gossip from the stylists and their customers.
Every six months to a year through college and even a little into my married life I went back and watched the experts roll my hair into tight curls.
Then I stepped into a salon in New Jersey in my 20’s and told them I wanted my hair permed, needed my hair permed in fact because I couldn’t take the boring straightness of my boring hair with its boring style one more minute!
The lady sat me down in the chair, snipped a little with her scissors here and there and staged an intervention, refusing to perm my hair. She said I’d look better if I just learned to blow dry my straight tresses. Then, she pointed to a super model photo on the wall and promised that I could look like her if I could just get over my aversion to blow drying my hair.
I left the shop and cried in my car.
My hair had always been curled; it’s what I knew, how I thought I looked best. I couldn’t handle all that hair without bounce and body, weighing down on my face, getting in my way, and just ending up in a ponytail by noon.
And I ….hate…blow….drying….my…..hair.
I hate everything about it. My hair is porous and retains water like a pregnant woman. It’s long and heavy. It takes what seems like a million years to really dry it.
I could end world hunger and find homes for all the world’s orphans if I had all that time.
Really, I’ve got better things to do than stand there with a noisy machine pointed at my head like a wind simulator.
Beauty takes effort, though. Hours spent in a salon with chemicals and curlers for a perm, an eternity in front of my mirror holding a blow dryer, either way it’s an investment. It’s an effort.
For some, it’s manicures, for others it’s eyebrow waxing or plucking, tanning beds, vitamins, exercise sessions, hair coloring and wrinkle creams.
I’m a simple girl, really. Most of that is far beyond me and most days I’m a rebel and ditch the hair dryer in favor of “the wet look.”
That’s a real style, right?
But all those years of perming my hair taught me this: If external beauty takes the effort, the intentionality, the investment of time and resources, then surely internal beauty should require as much.
And I should be willing to pay a costly price and willingly sacrifice for faith like that, the kind that roots itself deep in my soul and blossoms out so full it pushes out all the ugly, the doubt, the worry, the anxiety, the selfishness, the bad attitudes, and the sin.
Faith–that’s a gift from God. It’s not something we work for or earn.
But I can choose to look to God for faith or reject His gift.
In her book, The Faith Dare: 30 Days to Live Your Life to the Fullest
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs…
They go from strength to strength
till each appears before God (vv. 5-7)
These pilgrims set their hearts on a God-destination. They purposed to journey to Him, transforming valleys into springs of refreshing life and fulfillment and joy along t
he way until they finally appeared before God–strengthened from the traveling, not fatigued and worn frail from the task.
Debbie Alsdorf writes:
I have to set my heart on the pilgrimage, which is an extended journey with a purpose…And I have to set my heart and mind on faith in God for the journey, the life he purposed for me alone (p. 12).
Here we begin, making this decision: No more distractions, turning aside for easier paths, growing disheartened and taking refuge in tents along the road, following short-cuts that lead us astray, pursuing other destinations, and allowing others to talk us out of it.
We set our heart and mind on faith in God and we get going.
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During the month of August, I’ll be joining with several hundred women in a study of Debbie Alsdorf’s book, The Faith Dare: 30 Days to Live Your Life to the Fullest
Heather King is a wife, mom, Bible Study teacher, writer and worship leader. Most importantly, she is a Christ follower with a desire to help others apply the Bible to everyday life with all its mess, noise, and busyness. Her upcoming book, Ask Me Anything, Lord: Opening Our Hearts to God’s Questions, will be released in the Fall of 2013! To read more devotionals by Heather King, click here.
Copyright © 2013 Heather King
Heather C. King - Room to Breathe 
Heather,
Your post today reminds me of days gone by when I went with my Grandmother to her hair dresser. Having lost her earlier this year those memories are bittersweet but they direct my heart and thoughts to God and how I desire to spend as much time and intentionallity on Bible Study as my Grandma did on her hair.
Janet, I really relate to your comment because my grandmother (the one who took me for my first perm) passed away earlier this year also! Those are fond memories I have of time spent with her. Thanks for sharing from your heart and experience, too, and reminding us to study God’s Word with intentionality!
Loved your analogy. We spend hours making ourselves beautiful on the outside-and less time making ourselves beautiful on the inside. I am working on the inside with Faith Date
It’ll be exciting to see how God transforms us from the inside-out with this study! Thanks for sharing!
Loved your story, Heather, and especially this part:
“If external beauty takes the effort, the intentionality, the investment of time and resources, then surely internal beauty should require as much.
And I should be willing to pay a costly price and willingly sacrifice for faith like that, the kind that roots itself deep in my soul and blossoms out so full it pushes out all the ugly, the doubt, the worry, the anxiety, the selfishness, the bad attitudes, and the sin.”
This reminds me of when I was graduating from Kindergarten! My mom put my hair in those hard pink plastic curlers and I had to sleep in them! In the morning, my hair was all knotted up and it was so painful when she was trying to take the curlers out and brush through! She told me, “It takes pains to look beautiful!” Somehow, I like your version of the story better, especially noting the quote above. Your blog made me smile and remember my head of curls in my kindergarten cap and gown! 🙂
Fast forward to my life now, and I want so much to be radiating Christ to everyone who sees me. It’s so funny how God changes that in us – that yes, we want to be approachable, but the beauty comes from our spirit!
God bless everyone in the Faith Dare study – leaders and students! Thank you for sharing!
I love your story, too! I meant to dig out an old school picture of me with all my curls, but I forgot to do that before I posted this morning. Maybe I still should!
I love your description of wanting to “radiate Christ”—that really is true beauty, the irresistible presence of Christ in us!!! That’s what I want, too! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This was fun to read Heather…. I love the smell of coconut because my Grandmother took me to Hawaii and it reminds me of her. Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
It’s amazing how certain smells bring back those memories, even from childhood! What a great way to remember your grandmother, too!
Heather this blog took me down memory lane thank you.
See you again soon until then
Dare you! B-)
What a difference it is when we “dare” each other to pursue Christ and dig in deep with faith than those silly school-girl dares that were crazy and sometimes dangerous or mean. I love that we can rise to a new spiritual challenge and spur each other on in that way!!!
Absolutely a challenge well worth taking…
“But all those years of perming my hair taught me this: If external beauty takes the effort, the intentionality, the investment of time and resources, then surely internal beauty should require as much.” I love this. So deep, so true. We spend time on many things but groan at making the simplest effort for God. Ahhh, this truth warms my heart and refreshes my spirit. Thank you!
I love this reminder to make faith a priority, not something we expect to happen easily or automatically!
I love how you refer to our Christian walk as a journey.
It truly is. Sometimes we walk, sometimes we run, and sometimes we can barely move at all, but always looking to the prize, our destination.
We just keep pressing on!!