You are You, and I am Me
By Christy Lowman
Burke County
This month I thought I would get up close and personal, and talk about something I learned young in life.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I was the prime subject to get picked on in school. I had red hair, pale skin with freckles, wore glasses, and had to have braces.
Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with my appearance.
As I got older, I was able to change my appearance or at least hide some of the things I didn’t like about myself. In high school, I went to the tanning bed faithfully every day and after many painful burns got a tan. I wore contacts to hide the fact that I needed glasses and got the braces off. Over time I was able to accept having red hair and freckles but I wanted so much to have long curly hair. That was what was in style. Big, tall, but with long curly hair. I went to great lengths to have it. My parents paid for me to have a spiral perm.
Getting the perm was pure torment. It took my breath and set my scalp, ears, and anywhere the solution touched on fire. But I wanted curly hair so bad I sat through it. Afterward, I had sores on my head and only part of my hair curled. Around my face and one side stayed straight. It was so disappointing. My hairstylist couldn’t believe it, she had never seen such a thing! So, I had it redone before I should have and left it in even longer. Again, I endured the pain while it took my breath. To me having curly hair was worth it. When my hairdresser took the rollers out, again my hair in those same parts was still straight. Again, I was very disappointed. I asked God why. He sent peace over me and I understood. I finally accepted who I was and how God had made me.
I told myself, “If God wanted me to have curly hair, He would give it to me.” And that was the end of it. I accepted that God made me with straight hair for a reason and I would be happy with it. That was the last time I got a perm and I never considered changing my hair color because red was what He had blessed me with.
Do you want to know the funniest part? Now that I’ve got older, I have curly hair. Is that not funny or what? God blessed me with getting to experience the best of both worlds!
Did you know that God has made each one of us unique and in His own image? Each one of us has our very own set of fingerprints. No one else’s is the same. Did you know that God thinks everything through when He makes us? From our eyes and hair color to how tall we will be, to our own God-given purpose and talents. He cares so much about us that He even knows how many hairs are on our heads and could give you a number at any time! How cool is that!
Most importantly, He wants us to be happy with our appearance because that is how He made us, in His own image!
Dear God, thank You for making us unique and in Your own image, from our fingertips to our toes. Thank You for making me the way You made me! Help each one of us accept and like the way we are made because that is how You made us! In Jesus’s name, I pray, Amen.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 NIV
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” Psalms 139: 14
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Christy Lowman is a Christian author and illustrator that lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband and two children. She enjoys writing and illustrating books for all ages. Some of her short stories are published with Guideposts and HCI. Christy gives all the glory to God in everything she does. A portion of every book sold from the Small Bible Character Series will be donated to battle human trafficking. If you enjoy her books, “like’ her author page on Facebook and let her know! You can buy her books at //www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AChristy+Lowman&s=relevancerank&text=Christy+Lowman&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1. You can reach her at //www.facebook.com/authorChristyLowman/
or christyssoaps@yahoo.com
You can read more Christian news from Christy here.
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