Why bad hair? Why crooked tiaras?

What little girl doesn't dream of being a princess with the beautiful sparkling tiaras.  Put a tiara on us and we feel special,,,truly regal.  As a young child I can remember being in a competition at a carnival our school had each fall.  A representative from each class was chosen and the overall winner was given a trophy and a tiara.  When I didn't win the contest, my Daddy, understanding my disappointment made me a beautiful crown.  I felt special and beautiful even though the tiara was constructed of cardboard and aluminum foil.  That was 39 years ago and I can still remember the feeling of being a princess.  As far as I was concerned I was royalty.

 Something else happened about a year later.  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and asked that He come live in my heart.  That day I became a child of God.  The King of Kings.  That made me a princess.("Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ...Romans 8:17) 

I once heard a story about a beautiful princess.  She had received extensive training on how to act during the appearances that were so often required of the royal family.  On one particular day her family was at an event.  As she sat beside her father, she began to fidget. Her movement increased and quickly caught the attention of her father, the king.  Very gently he leaned over and softly said to her, "Don't forget WHO you are!"  At that reminder the princess straightened her back and held her head high.  Often I am like that princess.  I forget who I am and my behaviour is very unbecoming of a child of the King of the Universe and that tiara, once very straight, begins to become very crooked on my head. I certainly don't want it to be this way , but my sinful nature rears its ugly head and I behave in a way that His child should not behave--my tongue gets the best of me and I gossip, criticize and react in anger or impatience, judge, doubt or believe it is all about me.  (This is certainly not an exhaustive list.  I could continue with my list, but won't.  I think you have the idea.)

My struggle in living a life confident in my role as a princess is only compounded by "bad hair days".  You are probably thinking what does a bad hair day have to do with any of this.  It is quite simple....to me, those "bad hair days" signify all my insecurities. These insecurities may relate to my physical appearance like my obvious bad hair, the acne pimple on my nose that just won't go away (and by the way....I wish someone would have told me that at age 45 I would still be battling acne!) or the muffin top that has taken on a life of it's own with my ever increasing weight.  My insecurities take on other forms as well.  My feelings of absolute inadequacy when speaking to large groups of people, my fear of being disliked or disappointing my family.  Just as I can't begin to write all the reasons my tiara is often crooked I certainly cannot list all my insecurities.  My list is exhaustive. 

One thing that I am sure of is God's grace.  The sin that causes my tiara to be crooked--well, God's grace is sufficient to deal with and forgive that sin.  God's Word tells us..."In Him we have redemption through the blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He has made abound toward us."  (Eph 1:7-8)  As much as I hate my emotional, physical and mental insecurities and wish I were different-I am well aware that with God's grace He can use me in spite of my weakness.  In 2 Cor. 12:9 we are told "And he (God) said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength  is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore most gladly I will boast in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'"

Although I am often seduced by the thought that a great head of  hair would make me happy , I am well aware that it would not.  My real happiness comes from Him.  I thank God for my weaknesses because they make me humble and help me develop a greater dependence on Him.  That way, when God uses me He gets all the glory--not me!!

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