You know the idiosyncrasies that you don't notice about yourself until somebody else notices? I have one. Multiple shampoos and conditioners. I have a lot of them. Robert has pointed this out and he's right, I do have lots of hair care items. It's not necessarily on purpose or that I'm constantly buying them, I somehow seem to accumulate shampoos, conditioners and deep conditioners. I completely blame my mother for this. The woman buys detergent at the dollar store to save money, yet insists that she, my sister and I used "good" shampoo. Every time I go home or she comes to Dallas we have to stop at the salon so she can buy me an Aveda product. "Good hair is important," she says. I'm not complaining, it's fabulous. Aveda-making people smile, one bottle at a time.
She's been like this since I can remember. When I was little I can recall seeing the Nexus bottles in her shower that I wasn't allowed to use. I was probably mad about that because I was really into my hair in grade school. I was consistently fighting with my bangs to look right. Every morning I fought the battle with my curling iron and hair spray. Scary. Later on when I was in middle school, she started using Nioxin, it smelled like peppermint and I always felt special when I was used it, she had become more generous in her later years (maybe she felt bad because she had my sister..ha, jk). I'm not sure what happened in my mom's shampoo life from this period til she discovered Aveda. She might have fallen off the band wagon of salon shampoos and dabbled in Herbal Essences, but about my junior year of college she had a complete about face.
She has always had opinions about my hair. If I got highlights my mom would have to rate the colorist, "Not as good as your last one." or "Oh, you need to keep going to him, he knows what he's doing with your hair." So, I knew I was in for something when she asked me out of the blue, "What shampoo are you using?". I remember being caught off guard. I had a part time job and I had been getting more frequent lectures from both parents about trying to cut back on taking money from their "money tree" and she was worried about my quality of shampoo? Confusion.
We stopped that day and she bought me the Aveda Damage Remedy shampoo, conditioner and deep treatment. She said that my hair looked fried and it needed help. She was probably right, I chi-ed it to death everyday. Even since, I've tried all sorts of wonderful Aveda products. There's Shampure, Brilliant, Sap Moss and on and on, but it was the Damage Remedy that caused the replenishing I needed. My mom claims that it "brought my hair back to life". Gees, was it that bad, Mom? I guess so. Anyway...we like Aveda, we're believers, so this explains allllllll of my hair products.
Last year about this time, I was in the shower, you know washing my hair like I normally would and I found my self staring at the bottle of shampoo I was using. It was called, Color Conserve. I remember sighing heavily because my life felt colorless. I felt colorless. I wanted the color back, my happiness and simply the ability to be myself again. Credit card debt, uncertainty that I should live in Dallas, my Granny's recent diagnosis of cancer and the incorrect way I dealt with it all had sucked the color out of me. I stared at that bottle of shampoo wishing that there was a product that I could apply that would "conserve" my color. That wouldn't let things in life wear on me, that I could be the same person that I was before I made mistakes and before things were complicated. I put the bottle down and looked at my other shampoos and conditioners. Hello, Smooth Infusion. I remember wishing that this one literally could be applied and produce the effect of "smoothness" in my life. Then, I see the old faithful shampoo that brought "my hair back to life" - Damage Remedy. I remember sincerely wishing that Damage Remedy would work. That if I used it, it would fix the damage in my life. I wish it would fix my Granny, it would pay my bills, I wish it could tell me where I'm supposed to live and if I was on the right track. I want the damage out of my life and I want the color back and at that point I didn't know how to get there.
That's the thing about life, trials and tribulations are inevitable and there isn't usually a quick fix, but eventually light and purpose can be found in dark moments. A little while after that emotional shower I realized that I did have a Damage Remedy - It was God and my relationship and access to Him. I did have a Color Conserve - It was my family and friends that God placed in my life. I did have Smooth Infusion - It was faith that my prayers would be answered in some fashion, no matter how hard that was to believe. It wasn't easy to realize these things, but somehow, I did....Aveda- more than just a shampoo. ha.
I have a little book called Hope for Each Day by Billy Graham. This was the reading a week or so ago and I feel like it sort of relates to this. Enjoy :)
Life with a capital "L"
The Son gives life to whom He will. -John 5:21
The moment you come to Christ, the Spirit of God brings the life of God into you and you begin to live. For the first time you begin to live with a capital "L". There's a spring in your step, a joy in your soul, and a peace in your heart. Life has taken on a new outlook.
There's a whole new direction to your life, because now the Spirit of God has implanted within you the very life of God, Himself, who is eternal. And that means you will live as long as God lives!
Too many Christians let themselves get bogged down by the cares and routines of daily living. Don't let that happen to you. Ask God to help you live each day with eternity in view.
