Serving to worship

This is Lori.

Lori is in my family of choice. My husband and I have lunch with our family of choice every Sunday. Last year, Lori was diagnosed with breast cancer. She bravely underwent surgery and chemo and the hair loss that came with it. When her hair began falling out, she decided to shave her head. In January, we had a “coming out” party as friends gathered around her to cheer her on. Several guys shaved their head in support of her (one even leaving a mohawk in for a week on a dare). The girls and I weren’t willing to do that, so we opted for the reverse.

We grew our hair out to donate it in honor of her.

My hair had already been growing out, so with an extra year added on, it got pretty long.

One of my co-workers began calling me Rapunzel.

Three of us met one Saturday to chop it, and Lori joined us for the fun.

We got our hair sectioned…

…then it was time to cut!

I felt five pounds lighter!

Between the three of us, we had a lot of hair to donate.

I’ve grown out, cut off, and donated my hair three other times. It’s one of those things that I enjoy doing. God has gifted me with a thick head of hair that grows fairly quickly. If it can be used to help people, then I’m happy to donate it.

In my worship struggle, I am looking for other ways to connect with God and worship Him. I know that worship is more than inspirational words on a powerpoint and catchy melodies, but sometimes I forget to look beyond that. Serving is one way I’m finding that is a real way to worship. We’re told to be the hands and feet of Jesus… why not the hair too? (Okay, that was cheesy…)

I was more than happy to grow my hair out in honor of my brave friend Lori. She was blessed by it, and some woman struggling through chemo will now be blessed by it too. And I believe God was blessed in the process too.

And I got a cute new do out of it.

Thanks, Lori, for being such inspiration!

(Good news: Lori is now cancer free and doing awesome!)