Diaries of the Heart

A REALLY BAD HAIR CUT…

35 Comments

Earlier this year my No 1 son asked me to cut his hair.  I have been doing this on and off for a couple of years, but not often enough that I remember which clippers are the best ones to use.

We got all the clippers out and onto the back verandah and got ourselves set up.  I was in a bit of a rush because it was getting late and I like to cut hair just before we have tea so that we can have showers and clean up and not be all itchy.

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My son normally has a clipper cut now as he is a shearer and it can get really hot in the sheds.

So off we go, I get the clippers plugged in and start on the back, as I have had bad experiences and I want to make sure the clippers are working.

Now the clippers weren’t working properly so we fiddled with them a bit and kept going.  After a bit of frustration I grabbed the little clippers that we have and started with them and it was going quite well but because his hair was longer than normal the clipper head was getting clogged.

As I put those clippers down I accidently pushed in the cutting head and changed the setting, without noticing.  I got the other ones, but they still wouldn’t work, frustration is now building and it is getting darker so I grab the other head (that I had pushed in) and went straight over the top of my sons head.

All of a sudden I realised that the head had been pushed in and I had almost shaved a strip on his head.  There was a little bit of stubble there but not much.

Well, I was very upset (to say the least) and very sorry, but my son just said  “oh Mum don’t worry, it’ll be alright”.

I had no choice now but to keep going and the more I cut the worse I felt.

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This is his hair after a couple of weeks, you can imagine how short it must have been. Just as well he has a nice shaped head!!!

To make a long story a tiny bit shorter. I finished cutting his hair and then spent the next 4 days apologising for his hair cut and my son spent the next 4 days saying “it really is ok mum I don’t mind, I actually like it”.

Now he had to put up with a fair bit of ribbing and questioning, and all he answered them was “I’m built for speed”.

He didn’t say once that his mother had stuffed up and shaved his head.  He never made me look bad to anybody and now says he wants me to cut it again.  (You can imagine I am slightly hesitant to do so).

Now to the point of telling you all this:

  • I stuff up at times, I am not perfect;
  • I have a very loving and forgiving son;
  • I learnt a very valuable lesson that day and not just that I should check the head on the clippers before beginning, but that I should try to be as forgiving as my son is.

But the most important lesson is to remember to forgive myself, I think I struggled with that the most.  I really have trouble forgiving myself when I do things wrong or make mistakes.

Now I know that God forgives me and I know that my son had too so what is so hard about forgiving myself and moving on.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes there are ramifications for the things that we do, sometimes to us and sometimes to others.  In my sons case I felt big time guilt, but he was the one who had to walk around with an almost shaved head.

Now I must focus on the fact that I am forgiven and learn from my mistakes and move on, and stand forgiven and renewed to live (or cut hair) another day.

Do you have trouble forgiving yourself?? What scriptures do you turn to for help??

 

This post is linked up here…

Thought Provoking Thursday

Fellowship Friday

 

35 thoughts on “A REALLY BAD HAIR CUT…”

  1. I think that forgiving ourselves is one of the hardest things to do! Beth Moore once described it like being a prisoner in a jail cell – the jailor unlocks the lock and opens the door saying he is free, but the prisoner remains inside the cell! Sounds silly, doesn’t it? I think we need to keep reminding ourselves of the forgiveness we have in Christ…daily remind ourselves if necessary! 🙂

    Thanks for this great story! It sounds like your son is a wonderful young man!

    Blessings, Joan

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  2. I’m your neighbor today at Unforced Rhythms–and I’m so glad I dropped by! I did the SAME thing to my husband once. He didn’t ask for a haircut for two years 😉 (I should mention that he had planned on growing his hair out long whilst he attended graduate school). Yes, it sometimes is very difficult to forgive ourselves. Our heavenly Father must really shake his head sometimes! After all, if HE forgives us, who are we to not forgive ourselves?!

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    1. Thanks Anita for that very lovely comment and for making me feel like I am not the only one to do these things, and for reminding me of Gods forgiveness. I hope you are blessed today.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this! I cut my daughter’s hair too short about a week ago and she ended up with a bob. It’s cute, but I almost lost it. It’s good to be reminded to forgive ourselves.

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  4. First, his haircut made me think of both of my sons who both wear their hair shaved. They love it! Second, I do have trouble forgiving myself because I am hard on myself because I think I should know better. God forgives and loves so big and I need to keep reminding myself of this. Blessings!

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  6. Oooh, yes. Forgiving ourselves is, at least for me, the hardest of all. How good you had the opportunity to practice this with someone as kind and forgiving as your son (I even felt convicted as I read his gracious response). Thank you for sharing this moment with us.

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  7. My husband used to cut our boys hair. Once, one of my littles came in looking like a pink shorn sheep – and I just about cried. Our oldest asked him to cut his hair sometime in high school. My son came in, said with his brand of humor, that someone needed to take the clippers out into the woods and bury them so Dad couldn’t ever do that to anybody again. Nobody was mad – we all just laughed and went on. With all these boys – they manage to find humor in things like hair cuts. The grace your son exhibited is just beautiful. I love both your hearts!

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    1. I must admit that my husband wasn’t very happy with me when I did this but we all got over it. Your family sound just great, I think we need to look at these times with humour instead of anger, but sometimes it takes a bit to get there!!! My son is just wonderful and he is so forgiving and caring, I will definitely miss him when it is his time to fly the nest. Thank you for your lovely comment and encouragement, it really blessed me. Blessings

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  8. I have such a hard time forgiving myself, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better. It takes practice and remembering – if God, the God of the whole universe, can forgive me, I should be able to forgive me. Who am I to have a different opinion of myself than God?

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  9. I love it. I love that your son was so loving and forgiving!
    I have five sons and I cut all of their hair. I always joke that 3 out of 5 haircuts are decent, so it’s like playing roulette when you sit in my chair. They are all forgiving.
    When my oldest was little I took the guard off to trim his neckline. I was thinking that I had finished when I noticed some stray long hairs. I simply used the clippers to clean up his hair and I had forgotten I had removed the guard. I made a huge stripe in his hair so I had to shave his head to cover it up. He too was forgiving. ( almost 15 years later he still asks me to cut his hair.)

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    1. That’s just great Bekki, seems I’m not the only one, it makes me feel so much better. I have found that my sons have a way of moving on really quickly when things go wrong, it is a wonderful character trait. Thank you for your very comforting comment. Blessings to you and yours.

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  10. Oh! I can imagine how you felt because I would know how I would feel. Our boys are very forgiving–and your son not only looks good, but that smile looks genuine–like he really was forgiving.
    What a beautiful gift to have taught him forgiveness.
    Blessings,

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  11. Poor guy! At least he won’t get hot. My son doesn’t like me cutting his hair, since I can also get it wrong. We sometimes cut the kids’ hair, but now that they are getting older, we usually pay for haircuts. Yesterday, Amanda had her long hair cut short at the hairdresser. My Tuesday (Picture Perfect Party Linky) post will be about our summer haircuts – including the dog! It’s summertime in Dec. in South Africa. Take care and God bless!

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  12. Coming to you from weekend brew. Since it is the 13th of December I am coming in a little late too…So what. I enjoyed your post for its honesty, beauty and realness. Yes we’re going to make mistakes and yes we need to forgive ourselves. How many times do we see ourselves as WIPs (Work-in-Progress) and He sees us His masterpiece. You saw it His way, girl, and did it with grace. Thank you. ~Chris~

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  13. My son shaves his head as well. I think he looks very handsome with his short hair. But I understand the struggle to forgive yourself. Thanks for this great reminder of grace. As He forgives me, I must forgive myself and others. Blessings! Thanks for linking at CMB.

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  15. Forgiving myself is something I struggle with too often. I just have to keep reminding myself that if God can forgive me, than I can forgive me. Your son is a handsome man.

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  16. Forgiving myself is often much harder than forgiving others! I’ve had a few too short hair cuts, and a few “color jobs” that weren’t exactly what I wanted. I learned to say this little line to myself, and even sang it at times! It’s “Color fades, and hair grows”!

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