I have contrary hair. Frizz, curls in the wrong place, waves up over a cowlick and a part that isn't quite straight. It flips up over one ear and curls down over the other. It just seems so out of place most of the time.

There are days that I think my hair looks good but those are rare. When I am going somewhere important and I feel I need to look my best, the hair doesn't cooperate. I mess with it, blow-dry it, use gel, spray and whatever else I think will keep it in place. I've used the big round brush, the small round brush, the pick, and the comb. Regardless, as soon as I turn off the blow dryer, it does what it does best-returns to its original texture and lays like it was meant to be. And, invariably, when I am going nowhere, having nothing in particular to do, the hair looks fabulous. Why is that?

I am like my hair. I try to rearrange things like I think they need to be. I mess with my soul, my body, and my emotions-try to fit in when I feel left out, change what I think needs changing and at the close of the day, maybe I just need to go back to the way I was made: the original is always easier to read than the copy.

I am learning that acceptance of me-in all of my parts-is the first step towards recovering my soul. There are parts that don't appear to fit, pieces of the puzzle that I cannot find a place for. But, in the end, I feel confident that the whole picture will come into focus and I will be able to see clearly. That is, if this piece of hair hanging in my eye would just go away………..

Jeremiah 1: 5-8 I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.

Be who you are and not who you are not.