I wasn’t prepared to learn so many lessons when my husband donned a 9-inch multicolored spike mohawk for two weeks last month. The story itself is a heartwarming one. My husband Judd and his co-workers formed a Relay for Life team for one of the women, who was suffering with breast cancer. While musing about how they could raise money to help her and her family, they hatched a plan. Judd would grow his hair out for several months. Then they would place three jars, each with a different wild hairstyle, in the school hallway. Whichever style received the most money in donations would grace his head for a two-week stint. The options were cornrows, slick bald head, or multi-colored spike mohawk.
The school children dropped spare change – and dollars – in the buckets for two weeks. Each time he announced, “The cornrows are catching up to the mohawk,” the kids would scour their pockets and beg their parents for more to add to the mohawk jar.
So,at the end of the two weeks, my husband looked like this:
While the focus of the ordeal was to bless our friend with cancer, we learned many lessons during the two mohawked weeks.
I have to admit that I liked it better than the long hair he’d been growing for 9 months. You should have seen the first time we walked into our small town Walmart as a family with this hair! Children squealed, people snapped iPhone photos, some smiled widely while others quickly changed aisles.
Going to Church with a Mohawk
Another admission: I was very curious about what it would be like for Judd to show up at church looking like he did. Sadly, I didn’t get to go that day, but Judd told me all about it. I was blown away by the revelation God had given that morning.
During a prayer time, the elders of the curch went to stand in the front so that people could come up for prayer. One of the elders later told Judd he hadn’t even recognized him from far away, but he’d been eyeing him from afar.
The question that rolled over and over in this elder’s mind was, “How can I make this different-looking person feel welcome here?” I just love that the first thought for one of our elders is how to show God’s grace and welcome someone into the body of Christ.
Next, he said something so profound. Why do we only go out of our way like this for people that look different? Why don’t we immediately start thinking about ways to make mainstream-looking people feel just as grace-covered and welcomed?
It’s been going through my mind since the beginning, and I think God is trying to impress it upon me. (Ya think?) Anyway…
You never know the story someone is holding behind his or her outward appearance.
Nope, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Go out of your way to shower grace and love on the guy with the tattoos all over his head. Smile at the girl with the pierced eyebrows. Shake hands with the guy with the crazy mowhawk. Hug the brown-black-red-yellow-white-skinned person. Pray for that lady with the pretty blonde hair who always looks put-together. Get to know the one you’re jealous of. Did that last one hit a nerve?
But never… never… assume you know the whole story.
There are so many more lessons we learned. I hope to share them here, so I hope you’ll come back.
Tell me, do you have any stories to share?
So glad you had a good experience. I had my eyebrow pierced for a while and that to for some looks.
I have been thinking about this often lately. We never ever know what someone has gone through to make them look, act, think, feel, etc. the way they are. Each person’s experiences shape every part of their life and what choices they have made. As Jesus lovers it is so important that we meet them exactly where they are and love them for who they are, just as Jesus has deeply loved us. There is really no greater love than this. I really think this is the essence of what it means to know and love deeply without boundaries. It is human nature to what to judge a book by its cover I think, maybe because we want to compare who we are to the next person. Maybe we use it to try to feel better about ourselves, I don’t know. But, when loving Jesus we need to walk past that. Thanks for this post. Thought provoking and lovely. I am glad our church elders are thinking about how to reach out to others.
I love this post, Sarah!! This did not have the outcome I thought it would when I first started reading and I am glad. And pleasantly surprised. Gives me a little more faith in humanity.
It makes us feel so much better to love those who, by appearance, have some struggle. But, if we admit to ourselves that the “normal” looking person needs an outpouring of love, too then our facade is cracked and we have to face our own broken-ness. Being a Black woman in Boone, I have been on the receiving end of the obligatory kindness offered just because I’m different and it’s more offensive than genuine indifference. Living, sharing, caring heart-to-heart, from the genuine place that God calls us offer to one another is the only way.
By the way, I like the mohawk better than the long hair, too 🙂
Why I love our church. I have never been allowed to feel alone there. 🙂
Not that I consider myself to look at all normal….
Love, love, love this. Love, first of all, the heart of that elder. But most of all love your point; sometimes he most perfectly put together outside folks are simply the ones who have gotten good at hiding the hurt/scary stuff on the inside.
[…] 5. He’s not afraid to sport a 9-inch multicolor spiked mohawk for a friend with breast cancer. Seriously, go check it out! […]
As a Christian punk, sporting a 6″ mohawk, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story when I came across it. It’s a definite testament to how the love of Christ should empower us to love those in and outside of our comfort zones.
Thanks so much for your comment!! I love people who are not afraid to be who they want to be and look a little different from the masses! Truly, this experience made me look at all people differently – I think more like Christ see them.