The Unveiling

So 2012 is drawing to a close which brings us to a new year.  It’s probably a good thing that no one ever knows for sure all that will happen in the coming year or we might not want to face it!  Just because the date changes we somehow feel we are entitled to a fresh or new start but isn’t that true of each new day?  I ‘m not real good with resolutions and have a feeling many others aren’t either.  Rather than making a New Year’s resolution I thought that I would just make a new start in some areas.

Bringing in the new year with a new look

I told myself that at the start of the new year I would uncover my head.  Since I lost my hair in May exactly two weeks after my first chemo treatment I have had it covered with a wig or a scarf.  I actually liked how I looked in a wig but didn’t really enjoy wearing it.  It was itchy, sweaty at times, hot, and felt unnatural.  Nothing felt better than taking it off after wearing it all day although I felt good in it.  Cotton scarfs were more comfortable and I had fun with them but at the same time was getting tired of wearing one.  I wanted my hair to come in long enough that I could do something (anything) with it.  Now it has reached a point where I can gel up the top so it isn’t plastered against my head.

Knowing I would finally “go naked” and expose my covered skull I figured Christmas break would be a good time to get use to it before going back to work.  After the “unveiling” the first day I easily got over my lack of self-confidence and now actually enjoy having the freedom of nothing on my head.  It probably isn’t the greatest time of year to be doing this…in fact it’s the worst as even a person with a full head of hair needs a hat!  Then again, it wasn’t like I planned all this to happen either.  I joked with someone and told them that I had told the hairstylist to “Just take a LITTLE off and THIS is what happened!”

I’ve had some comments that it looks like Halle Berry’s hair style.  It may be a similar hair style but it’s obvious that the similarity between us stops there!  Oh how it would be nice to be compared to her body and beauty instead of her hair. Speaking of similarities, once one of my daughter’s friends whom I had never met before was introduced to me while I had my wig on.  He said he could see the similarity between mother and daughter, especially in regards to our hair.  I said, “Really?” and proceeded to pull my wig off.  He almost fell over with shock as my daughter and I laughed.

After having had a “covering” on my head for the last 7 months or so I feel exposed and almost vulnerable, especially with the cold weather.  It reminds me of how God is our covering, like an umbrella over us, protecting us and keeping us safe and warm.  Psalm 91:4 reads, “He will cover you with his wings. Under the feathers of his wings you will find safety.  He is faithful. He will keep you safe like a shield or a tower.” (NIRV)   “His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm.” (Message)  In Luke 12:34 we see the picture of Jesus like a mother hen longing to gather us under his arms and cover us, take care of us, love us, and protect us; “…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (NIV)  Now that is one kind of covering that I don’t ever want to get out from under!

Like I said, resolutions are not my thing.  I am happy I went through with my unveiling.  Some of my other “new starts” also began before the new year like enjoying life daily realizing that none of us knows how much time we have.  Laugh much…I started putting a joke a day as my FB status, even if I’m the only one to laugh at them!  Don’t sweat the small stuff and hand the big stuff over to God.  How about you?  What new starts will you add in your life?