Monday, April 02, 2007

Locks of Love

Last Saturday my 13-year-old daughter Caroline had ten inches cut off her hair in order to send it to Locks of Love. I'm proud of her for being willing to do this after having grown her hair out for two years. A wonderful woman from Woodlawn Baptist Church, Karen Partain, offered to give our family free haircuts. She has been a hairdresser for twenty years, and she's extremely skilled. Caroline and I were blessed to have her do our hair. This may seem like a shallow, mundane thing, but it is kind-of a ministry for Karen to do hair for free for people who can't afford it or are in tough situations, and the Lord used her to bless us. It's another example of the body of Christ at work: Karen is very open at her job about being a Christian, and for her co-workers to see her ministering to people in this way is a powerful witness. I'm sure she lost money during the time she spent cutting our hair, but she didn't seem to mind at all. She even told me she wishes that she didn't have to work for money so that she could give free haircuts all the time!

I'm posting the before-during-and-after pics of Caroline's haircut:









10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not at all shallow. Isn't that a blessing for Karen to do this for you. Cutting hair is her talent. And she uses it to help those who need what she can offer. That is a blessing from God. Thanks for sharing. selahV

Alan Knox said...

First, we think Caroline looks beautiful!

Second, it is not shallow for Karen to cut hair for people who cannot afford to pay for it. That is a great service to people!

-Alan

Maƫl said...

Caroline - I'm very proud of you.

BTW - I would not consider it "kind-of a ministry", but "a ministry". She is using her gifts to glorify her father, love others, and I'm sure when she gets a chance, chare the gospel.

We love y'all and miss you.

Alice C. said...

Alan: I didn't mean that it was shallow for Karen to cut hair for free. What I meant was that some people may find a haircut a shallow topic for a "thinking" blog. I guess I didn't make that clear in my post. You are totally right--it isn't a shallow thing for her to do at all. She works in a profession that deals a lot with the "surface"--the outer appearance, and it's refreshing to see where her heart really lies. She (Karen) wouldn't let me take a good picture of her or I would post it. She's a very humble lady.

Mael: You are absolutely right--it IS her ministry. And it goes along well with Alan's post about Cheryl's Christian Martial Arts, doesn't it?

Delaughter said...

Just had to write to say Caroline's haircut is fabulous! I think it is really flattering.... and really makes her look different. Way to go Caroline. I got my hair cut a couple years ago and was going from really long to really short so the lady cutting it mentioned Locks of Love. I was so glad she did, I was thrilled that it may get to be used. How awesome it makes us feel when we get to help others!!!

Know that we are praying. Love from over here- Kara
Oh, we are heading up to your city this week!!!

Anonymous said...

Alice,

I don't know if Caroline will like this, but I think the haircut makes her look more like her mother. Beautiful!

Margaret

Hence said...

It's a very flattering haircut.

Anonymous said...

Alice,

Caroline looks more like you with her haircut:-) It is so wonderful to be able to send you little messages here and there. I am praying for all of you and I am here if there is anything else that I can do for your family.

Love ya,
Marilyn Wilson

Alice C. said...

Margaret, Marilyn, and my Mom (if you're reading this, Mom...): Apparently great minds think alike because all three of you agree she looks more like me now. I'll take that as a compliment because I think she's beautiful. Eric says we need to "uglify" her so the boys will stay away.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE THE CUT!!! it looks incredible. i know you don't want to hear it, but she looks so much older. she's getting so beautiful and so grown up. question: did you cut your hair too?? if so, where are your pictures? OH, and by the way, i completely agree with the walmart article. i like living here and only having one, maybe two options for a certain item. maybe three if i'm looking for cereal...but really as long as it's cheap i'm fine with it. :)