The Perfect Shape

I remember, quite vividly, the very first time I got my eyebrows arched. Boy, I fought it to the death! I DID NOT want to get them done. You see, the women in my family have been blessed with natural arches over our eyes.  I thought sure if I let somebody touch my eyebrows, they'd ruin them. I was totally fine with smackin' a lil' Vaseline on 'em to keep 'em tamed, and going on 'bout my business. I didn't need to do what everyone else was doing with the new eyebrow arching trend anyway because I made (and make) it my business to defy trends. I purposely go left when everyone else goes right, as far as trends are concerned. Plus, getting my eyebrows done would mean more maintenance for me--something else I'd have to keep up with. I had found every reason under the sun not to get my eyebrows done. Ha!

My best friend, Chantel, who is a BEAST with eyebrow shaping, assured me, however, that she was simply going to "clean them up".  She explained and demonstrated how she'd follow my natural arch to do the shaping. She told me my arch would always be there, but she would be removing some of the wild hair around the perfect shape to enhance my already beautiful eyes. It certainly took some convincing, but I let her hook me up.

2008 - Chantel and I after my first eyebrow arching

I'm wearing a sticker that I got from my students earlier that day. :-)

After Chantel, who lived 14 hours away, I refused to let anyone else touch my eyebrows because what she had done was perfect. I trusted her. I'd seen her work. I knew she wouldn't mess me up because she loved me and she wanted me to look fly. So, for years, I touched them up myself by just plucking the wild hairs from around the perfect shape, but that got old...and painful...and I was jackin' myself up every now and then. A hot mess! I needed a professional. And after 2 misses, I finally found a hit! She is the BIZNISS! (Can you tell I teach 7th graders?)

At my most recent visit to my new "eyebrow lady" (Ha! I love that), she hooked me up as usual. Home girl waxes and tweezes to perfection! While she was waxing, we made small talk about her new baby and my students and other things we know about each other. Then, when she finished, she handed me that mirror (my favorite part), and I looked and saw that perfect shape. I just shook my head with approval and told her, "I wouldn't dare let anybody else in this shop touch my eyebrows. You just do them so perfectly."  She replied, with her usual sweet smile...

"That's because you trust me."

And the Holy Spirit took over right there.

He began to speak to my heart and tell me that life can have the perfect shape for those who trust Him. God can "shape" and "clean up" anything we trust Him enough to "shape" and "clean up". And He wants to, but we MUST trust Him to do what He MUST do to "shape" and "clean" us up.

We can try to shape and clean "it" up ourselves, but we can't always see what He sees, no matter how close we are to that mirror. He has the perfect view of us when we're laid back on that table. As He stands over us, He's perfectly positioned to get that perfect shape. And since He's the one who designed our "eyebrows" anyway, He knows best how to maintain them.

The waxing can be uncomfortable, but it's necessary for that perfect shape.  The tweezing can be a bit painful, but it's necessary for the perfect shape. God's shaping of us isn't always pleasurable, and sometimes it's down right tough, but it's necessary for that perfect shape. And if we trust that His hand knows EXACTLY what it's doing, even when it hurts, the end results are beautiful!

And sure, the wild hairs of life will pop up every now and again like wild hairs do, but the professional knows exactly what to do to make the perfect shape appear again.

My eyebrow lady is able to maintain my eyebrows' perfect shape because I trust her to do what she does best. I don't make any suggestions. I don't take the wax from her hand and try to do it myself. I don't grab the tweezers to pluck my own wild hairs. If I did any of that, I'd be in her way. So I don't even move. I'm completely still when she's at work on me.  And this is what God wants of me . And this is what He wants of you. Trust Him to do what He does best. Be still, and stay out of His way. He knows the shape of your life and the shape of your circumstance. He has the right tools and the perfect view and position to work on you.

Will you let Him make perfect shape of your life?  I can assure you He loves you way too much to mess you up.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV