Growing already

No, I'm not talking about my hair. I'm talking about my heart. And I know I said I would blog about this monthly, but this is good.


Less than a week into this Beautiful Lengths journey, I've already had a mind-boggling experience. I've never been on a mission trip and I've never done Habitat for Humanity. I've volunteered a few times - once because I was made to (which really means I didn't volunteer. . . ), a few times to fulfill an NHS requirement, and a time or two just because I cared. None of those stints made me feel like I was growing as a person.


I sent Beth my blog about my hair and her fight. She wrote back. That's where the growing comes in. I've always heard people come back from the mission field or from volunteering in the slums and they always say something like this: I thought I was doing this to help others, but I had no idea what it would do for me.


I never really understood that until Sunday. Beth's email humbled me and made me feel a thousand emotions all at once. She thanked me and told me she was honored to know me. Huh? Wow. I felt like I needed to do this to show her how honored I was to know her. And in the process I get praised? Cool! Then she told me that she shaved her head this weekend. Not cool.


You always hear people talk about "His perfect timing." Sometimes that makes sense to us. Sometimes we can relate. Sometimes - when we're hurting, struggling, fighting, falling - we have no idea what God could possibly be waiting for. I guess this weekend was a perfect example of His perfect timing. When Beth was hitting a low, I sent her a high, without knowing it, of course. I just wanted to share my blog with her and in turn, lifted her spirits, gave her new hope, and grew a bit in the process. Cool.