New Shampoo, New Woman

So for years people have been telling me that Pantene Pro-V is terrible for my hair. I've always brushed them off...if it looks shiny on the outside, who cares if its being stripped of all its nutrients and slowly becoming unhealthy? Its just hair right? And if it looks good from the outside, does it really matter? Hmmm...



This week I bought a new shampoo. It only cost 3.50, but is advertised as a product "used by professionals," so I thought I'd check it out. The first time I used it, I really didn't notice much of a difference. In fact, when I dried my hair, it even felt a little...rough i guess (the opposite of silky smooth). It made me miss my Panteen and think, this new shampoo is crap. But maybe, just maybe, this is the sort of thing that takes time before you notice a real difference.



All this talk about shampoo got me thinking. I struggle with expectations. I struggle with the relationship between appearances and real transformation and the time it takes to get there. I forget that the gospel, which brought me into the grace in which we now stand, is the very thing that must sustain me still, verses the various rules and regulations i come up with to make me feel like i'm on par with the rest of the western christians I run with to merit His favor. I become so preoccupied with silky and smooth and what it might take ME to get myself there, that I sacrifice the very life of my heart to meet this end. What kind of promise is that?



So I try a new shampoo...but hopefully this time, the RIGHT shampoo...His grace. His spirit. Him in me, the Hope of Glory. I suppose the results of all this, the implications of all this, dont immediately result in glorious, commercially beautiful hair, but time and a little faith and trust might just reveal something thats alive. And thats worth a rinse and repeat.



An imperfect analogy for sure, but if a walk thru the hair product eisle at Kroger can make me think of the gospel, I'll take it. Love you girls.