Yesterday morning, I finally summoned up the courage to get my hair cut. It was getting too thick and unmanageable for the upcoming trip. I called a local salon that I've only been to one, but for some reason just gave off this very pleasant and homey feeling. The woman on the phone said they had an opening in thirty minutes if I could make it there.
I scurried through the door exactly two minutes late and was greeted by a woman, whose name I will leave out for privacy. She was wearing black pants, a black shirt, and a dark grey apron. She seemed to be in her late 30's, yet she had hard lines around her eyes as though she had been through some pretty rough times in only three decades of this world. And despite the hard lines around her eyes, she seemed full of life. Content even.
She shook my hand and led me to her chair. I told her I needed to take off a few inches and get thinned out. She grabbed a comb, a pair of shears, and a clip. The haircut was quieter than most. Her disposition remained cheerful, yet she didn't speak much. We talked about the weather, FSU football, and the loud talking men in the barbershop connected to the salon.
It was getting close to the end of my haircut, or at least I prayed by the looks of the amount of my hair that was on the floor, when all of a sudden she asks me,
"Have you ever been to Honduras?"
I replied, "No ma'am. But, I'm leaving on September 10 headed there! How ironic?"
She smiled with closed lips then said, "Honey, it's not irony. It's God. He wants me to tell you something. Have NO expectations. None. Zero. Be embraced by the Father and just let be.My"
My mouth dropped. My eyes were wide. I said to her "Thank you."
She uttered softly, "Don't thank me honey, thank God. He loves you so much."
At that point, I realized that I was biting back tears and I finally released a couple saltwater raindrops down my cheek. She hugged me and sent me on my way, with probably one of the cleanest and most EVEN haircuts I've ever received.
I still wanted control over my life. I still wanted to search for an itinerary and to know where in Honduras all of us would be going etc. I was silly in thinking I could hold onto these expectations still somersaulting in my head. God knew was I needed to hear. So He told this Angel. And she found my in a hair salon. God speaks in so many ways. Sometimes they aren't as obvious as the angel I encountered. Sometimes it's just a whisper. But He speaks nonetheless. Praise God!
