Jesus with a Straightener

We hear about the stories in the Bible and we often think, "well, that was then". Well...this is now and he is just as active as when we walked this earth 2000 years ago. I should know this...I've been taught this my entire life. But for me, it seemed easiest to keep the active Jesus on the bookshelf tucked inside the pages of my Bible. It's not that I didn't believe he could do things in this day and age...it's just I had never experienced what it meant to love and react in love until today. I never knew what it must have been like for Jesus to love someone like me.

Today I got a glimpse into what this love looks like. Not passive, apathetic love, but love that works and shapes people and situations. I've always wondered what it would be like for Jesus to wash someones feet and today he gave me a hands-on experience. Unexpected, out of the blue, and completely God's work. A girl I was having a conversation with was complaining about her hair and how ugly it was. Her course, out of control curls sat in a netting atop her head. Uncombed, tangled, and greasy, her hair had probably not been under a shower head for close to a week. This girl and I don't get along...call it a personality clash or something. We never fight or yell, but there's something about her that I've never quite connected with. She's just always been harder for me to love. I don't know how I said it, or how I even thought about it, but five minutes later I found myself dragging her into my room, sitting her down on my chair, and flipping on my straightener. After adjusting it to the highest temperature, I grabbed my hairbrush. My hairbrush. What?! No one besides me uses my hairbrush. I'm picky about what touches my hair and even more controlling when it comes to things used to fix my hair.  "No, MY hairbrush" the Lord seemed to say. I found myself attacking her hair; detangling the knots and fighting back the curls. Then, smoking and sizzling, I began to straighten each individual curl. It took forever. My hands were greasy. My finger burnt. My patience wearing then. But then it was done and she looked beautiful. I stood back, not knowing what had possessed me or how I had gotten to where I was. Then it hit me...it wasn't me that had straightened her hair-it was Jesus. I wasn't my hairbrush that had fought back the curls, it was his. It wasn't my straightener that had done the work, it was his. His hands, not mine, were greasy. His love, not mine, had compelled me to do this. I almost started crying.

Washing someone's feet is unheard of in our modern society today. In fact, physical contact is fading in our screen obsessed world. People have their bubble and they stick inside of it. Jesus never had a bubble and he popped every single one he came into contact with. He was with the beggars, the lepers, the prostitutes. He didn't care what they looked like on the outside. In fact, he often used their outward appearance as a way to draw them to his heart. He hasn't changed, but instead of a water bowl and towel, he's now using a hairbrush and straightener. Today, I not only tasted a portion of God's love but was able to experience it. Amazing love, how can it be.

It is Well?

1. It Is Well with My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford
2. 
   
3. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.
   • Refrain:
     It is well, with my soul,
     It is well, it is well, with my soul.
4. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
5. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
6. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
7. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
8. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.

During chapel one day, we sang this beautifully written hymn. Amid the emotion naturally brought by the powerful lyrics, a new burden was placed on my heart. I sang "it is well with my soul" with such flippancy it was surprising. Was I truly aware of what I was reciting to the Lord? Did I really understand that I was telling Him that no matter the circumstance, I would say it is well with my soul? When is it "well with my soul"? Do I trust Him enough to believe that He will be my provider, both physically and emotionally? Is He enough in my life to be the thing that makes my soul content? By singing and agreeing with this hymn, I am putting myself in a state of complete surrender to not only His plans, but how I will be effected by them. I am saying that the circumstances are irrelevant because He is what makes my soul content, or "well" as Spafford states. Lord-help me to honestly say, with an open and content heart, that my soul is well in You.