Lessons In Vanity

I don't usually consider myself a vain person. As a mother, I don't have a whole lot of time to be meticulous about my appearance. I don't generally wear make up and most days I just put my hair up in a ponytail or bun. I've become mostly a jeans-and-a-t-shirt girl too.

However, on Sundays I do try and put some effort into how I look. It's the only day of the week that I get to dress pretty. I apply minimal make up and attempt to make my hair look nice. That usually means I enlist the use of my trusty flat iron. You see, I've got this sort of frizzy, sort of wavy hair that is a little hard to control. I've learned over the last few years that the flat iron is the best way to tame the mess. Therefore, I LOVE my flat iron!

Today I woke up and started getting ready for church. I went into the bathroom, plugged in my beloved flat iron and turned it on to let it warm up while I got dressed. By the time I sifted through my "Sunday Clothes" and decided on my outfit, I had just enough time to do my hair and apply some simple make up. I clipped my hair to start the ironing process and reached for my flat iron... this is when I discovered it wasn't on.

At first I thought I must have pushed the button the wrong direction and turned it off instead of on. So I flipped the button back to the "on" position. It didn't go on. Next I decided the GFCI outlet in the bathroom must have been tripped, so I reset it... Still nothing. Then I tried resetting the plug on the flat iron itself... nope.

Now at this point I start freaking out. I glance up at my reflection in the mirror and the panic starts to set in. I didn't dry my hair last night after my shower and went to bed with it slightly wet. It's all kinked in funny places from sleeping all night. I can't show my face in public like this!

I start to pray... "Really God? TODAY? Please let this thing go on! Please don't let me go to church like this!"

I bang on the flat iron, the indicator light flickers and goes off. "NOOOOO!!!!!"

Finally I gave in and got my hair wet and redried it in an attempt to make it straight. It worked... sort of.

On our way to church I was contemplating what God was trying to teach me here. While I don't consider myself a vain person, I obviously wasn't concentrating on preparing my heart to worship Him this morning. I learned that sometimes even I struggle with vanity and though it's only a small issue with me, it's still an issue.

I went to church and was blessed by a wonderful worship time with my beloved church family. And you know what? Not one of them said a word about my hair!