2 Corinthians 5:17 - “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
It’s been nearly 8 years since I first braved the “Big Chop”. In the natural hair world, the Big Chop is when a person cuts off their permed/relaxed hair, in order to regrow their hair in its natural texture. My hair had been relaxed so long, I had no idea what my natural texture would look like.
I did know that the constant application of chemicals over the years was causing damage to my hair (and possibly to my body). The cost of upkeep was becoming unaffordable and the unspoken need to “fit in” was hanging over me. I needed to do something different.
I came home from work and headed straight for the bathroom. I grabbed a pair of scissors and started snipping away. There was no turning back at this point. I snipped and snipped away until there was nothing left to snip and I was left with an uneven, spiked, questionable bed of hair. Regret immediately started to creep in. I called my son’s barber and an hour later, I was overwhelmingly pleased with the results. My hair was shaped up, all the damage had been cut away and I was ready for a fresh start.
My hair started to grow really fast, along with my excitement. Unfortunately, a few people around me didn’t share in my excitement. I was teased, called names and pierced with all kinds of stares. I had to shut out all the noise and focus ahead. After a couple months, I could see my natural texture and curl pattern. My hair was beautiful and healthy. But, after a few weeks, to my horror, I started to see damage again. I couldn’t understand what was going on. I went to see a professional hairdresser, who with a grin, asked about my hair-care routine and products. I confidently told her, thinking she’d be just as perplexed. She wasn’t. She calmly said “That was the old way when you had the relaxer. You can’t continue your old way of taking care of your new hair. The way you wash and style your hair and the products you use, all have to change. If you apply the old principles to the new, you’ll get the same damage” Wow, I learned a valuable lesson that day!
How often do we find ourselves in this same place? We make changes in lives, but bring with it, our old way of doing things. We leave a toxic relationship, only to bring those old habits into a new one. We start a better job, but continue to come in late as normal. We join the body of Christ, but continue to hang out with the old damaging friends.
Pastor Wilson challenged us with the question… “Why are you bringing up old stuff?”. If I were to answer, I’d say there’s a comfort in the old. We know it. We are used it. It’s what we do on auto-pilot. Many times, we are so stuck on the old, we don’t realize how damaging it is. During the sermon, we were challenged to completely let go of the old and completely be that new creature God has called and created us to be. Discover His way to grow and be healthy and be beautiful. You may be called names, you may be teased, and may get long stares, but in the end, you’ll stand happy in strong in your natural relationship with God, damage free.
God I want to live completely as the new creation you’ve called me to be. Help me to let go of anything that ties me to my past and my old way of doing things and help me to only depend on you. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
By: Min. April Carter
