Let Your Hair Down...

One day, a few months ago, I turned on the radio in the morning before I crawled out of bed and I heard a song that made me cry. I was going through an intense time of the Lord showing me how to be beautiful by accepting who I am. Just to think about how He coordinates my life.. It's just insane. My camp counselor called these times "Jesus kisses." Basically, they are just times when we know that an instance happened and we knew that it was from the Lord.

Here's an example. My mom planted a garden in Oregon because she didn't want to move. She planted a row of tomato plants and at the end of that row she planted two bell pepper plants. They ended up moving because they thought it was God's will for their lives. There was a garden where they moved to and there were tomato plants there. Things weren't working out quite like they had expected and she was wondering if it was really God's will. A lady from their church was over and she was telling her what kind of plants were in the backyard. Down at the end of the row of tomato plants she said, "What are those?" And my mom had never noticed them before. They were two bell pepper plants at the end of the tomato row, just like she had planted in Oregon. (She says that sometimes she would have to go out and look at those plants to remind herself that God had a plan.)

Anyway, back to MY example. ;) I knew that God was using this song to speak to me and it still brings tears to my eyes just because of how hard girls struggle to feel beautiful and to change themselves so that they can be "acceptable." To know that God just wants us to be ourselves and to love how He made us.. He doesn't want us to struggle.. I don't know, I think that's absolutely beautiful.

" Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
... You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.
... When you gonna realise, that you don't even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to."
-Put Your Records On

I find it funny how I'm not even into the type of music that Corinne Bailey Rae makes, but that song is absolutely one of my favorites because it reminds me of what God showed me. I don't have to change myself to be beautiful, I just need to be me. The way God made me. I think it breaks His heart when He sees us hating ourselves and changing ourselves, He wants us to be free from that.

(And just to clarify I'm not discussing sin, because I have many, many issues in my heart that need to change, but I'm referring the behavior of changing yourself to fit in with a group.)

Anyway, oddly enough, I needed to hear that song today, but for a different reason. The way God loves me astounds me...