I cut my hair. While this may not seem related to my academic work, I would like to explain how it is profoundly connected.
The last time I made a major change to my hair, my young son was just 6 months old. He was sick. The kind of sick where I stayed up all night walking him up and down the hallway while he cried. The few hours a night that he slept, I laid awake listening to his breathing, praying we would make it through the night without an asthma attack. I spent many days carrying him through hospital hallways while he was poked and prodded, x-rayed and examined. I cut my hair.
It was long and thick and beautiful and full of spit up and tears. So I cut it all. I gave up vanity for the sake of giving all my energy to finding healing for …show more content…
In the meantime, my hair began to grow.
Inch by inch my long tresses returned, as I watched him grow in health and maturity, I thought that I was growing as well.
When we moved to Denver in the fall of 2014 I began a journey of personal and spiritual healing. My eyes were opened to the pattern of survival I had assumed while caring for my son. I realized that I had spent the last several years focusing all of my energy on him and the external needs of those around me. As I began to enter a season of self-reflection I found a broken heart, full of frustration, feelings of abandonment and confusion. My hair had grown, but my heart was resolute. I began meeting with my priest’s wife. She is a passionate woman of faith, who I deeply admire.
She helped me to see the enduring brokenness I was carrying. She opened my eyes to the vanity
REFLECTION PAPER
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of my externally focused healing. She helped me to see the deep neglect of my own heart, my own health. My son was finally strong, but I could not continue to hide my broken heart.
As our meetings continued I began also seeing a therapist to address some of the deep emotional issues we had uncovered. As my heart began to heal, my long hair began to feel like ill …show more content…
Which requires a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources. Ultimately, I desire to work in executive leadership development, especially in the non-profit sector.
So while cutting my hair may seem like it couldn’t possibly be connected to my academic success, it represents a commitment to pursue my God given vocation with passion, commitment and a heart that is slowly being restored by my heavenly father.
One of the books assigned for this class is Courage and Calling by Gordan T. Smith. In that book, Smith states that “… It is important to stress that fundamental to a biblical theology of vocation is the reality and principle that all vocations are potentially sacred.” (1999.) I believe
REFLECTION PAPER
4
that my calling to a Bachelors degree in human resources is a part of pursuing the sacred vocation to which I am called. This conviction, along with my sassy short hair, will help me to work hard when I am tired. To read one more page when school feels like too much. To “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1 New King James Version.) This process of growth will continue as I finish this degree with strength of conviction; excellent grades and unflinching determination. Perhaps, in the meantime, my hair will
The last time I made a major change to my hair, my young son was just 6 months old. He was sick. The kind of sick where I stayed up all night walking him up and down the hallway while he cried. The few hours a night that he slept, I laid awake listening to his breathing, praying we would make it through the night without an asthma attack. I spent many days carrying him through hospital hallways while he was poked and prodded, x-rayed and examined. I cut my hair.
It was long and thick and beautiful and full of spit up and tears. So I cut it all. I gave up vanity for the sake of giving all my energy to finding healing for …show more content…
In the meantime, my hair began to grow.
Inch by inch my long tresses returned, as I watched him grow in health and maturity, I thought that I was growing as well.
When we moved to Denver in the fall of 2014 I began a journey of personal and spiritual healing. My eyes were opened to the pattern of survival I had assumed while caring for my son. I realized that I had spent the last several years focusing all of my energy on him and the external needs of those around me. As I began to enter a season of self-reflection I found a broken heart, full of frustration, feelings of abandonment and confusion. My hair had grown, but my heart was resolute. I began meeting with my priest’s wife. She is a passionate woman of faith, who I deeply admire.
She helped me to see the enduring brokenness I was carrying. She opened my eyes to the vanity
REFLECTION PAPER
3
of my externally focused healing. She helped me to see the deep neglect of my own heart, my own health. My son was finally strong, but I could not continue to hide my broken heart.
As our meetings continued I began also seeing a therapist to address some of the deep emotional issues we had uncovered. As my heart began to heal, my long hair began to feel like ill …show more content…
Which requires a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources. Ultimately, I desire to work in executive leadership development, especially in the non-profit sector.
So while cutting my hair may seem like it couldn’t possibly be connected to my academic success, it represents a commitment to pursue my God given vocation with passion, commitment and a heart that is slowly being restored by my heavenly father.
One of the books assigned for this class is Courage and Calling by Gordan T. Smith. In that book, Smith states that “… It is important to stress that fundamental to a biblical theology of vocation is the reality and principle that all vocations are potentially sacred.” (1999.) I believe
REFLECTION PAPER
4
that my calling to a Bachelors degree in human resources is a part of pursuing the sacred vocation to which I am called. This conviction, along with my sassy short hair, will help me to work hard when I am tired. To read one more page when school feels like too much. To “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1 New King James Version.) This process of growth will continue as I finish this degree with strength of conviction; excellent grades and unflinching determination. Perhaps, in the meantime, my hair will