Finding Sacred in the Ordinary: Braiding Her Hair
There were many reasons that having a daughter made me worry. One of them was that I have never been very good at doing hair. I have curly hair, which I care for in a pretty nonchalant way. I also never learned how to braid. My mom and sister both knew how, so I never needed to learn myself. Of course, my daughter came out with a full head of hair, which I think she uses most of her calories to grow instead of the rest of her. So naturally, I had to learn how to do hair quickly.
After much trial and error, I can now do multiple types of braids, ponytails, and even other hairstyles. And honestly? I have come to truly enjoy it. It has become part of our daily routine: my daughter brushes her teeth while I do her hair. I’m able to spend special time with her, even if it's just five minutes, building her up with my words and telling her how much I love her. We have names for each hairstyle (after different Disney princesses, of course), and each morning I wait with anticipation to see which one she will choose the day.
It took time to for me to recognize the gift it is to do my daughter’s hair, to slow down and spend these special moments with her (more time than I care to admit). Spending time with the people we love is one of the easiest ways to find the sacred in the ordinary. God gives us countless opportunities for connection; we just have to be still long enough to recognize them. It may take a little longer to ask my daughter how she’d like her hair done, or to sit down and do a more complicated braid. But am I making time for that? Am I slowing down enough to let these small moments of connection last a little longer when they can?
Being a mom has made me realize how much I need to slow down our days. Leaving a little margin seems to make room for so many more moments of joy and connection. Sometimes that simply means building in some buffer time—both for the sake of those moments and for the sake of my own blood pressure. But more importantly, it allows my children the opportunity to interrupt me without being met with frustration. This is one of my favorite things about the Lord: He is always interruptible. In fact, He can never truly be interrupted because He is always available to us. He is never too hurried for the person in front of Him.
And He doesn’t simply make time for us, He invites us into what He is doing. He lets us come alongside Him and participate, helping in our own little way, even though He certainly doesn’t need our help. There is something so beautiful about that. It reminds me that perhaps the goal isn’t always to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible, but to leave enough room to bring the people I love along with me.
Having a daughter (and now a son) still scares me sometimes, and I think motherhood probably always will. But at least now I can braid hair, so I have one less thing to worry about.
