Shed

I am shedding…lots.

I always keep my hair in a ponytail now, because otherwise I end up leaving a trail of hair behind anywhere I go. The shower drain needs to be unclogged often...and I can barely keep up with the sweeping and vacuuming necessary to prevent a layer of my locks from coating our floors.

It is disgusting.

At least it's my own hair...but I still think it's gross. I often get that tickly feeling, as though a tiny creature of the six - or worse - eight legged sort is crawling down my back or arm...only to realize it's just my hair, which is a relief, but still...eww.

And as practical as a ponytail may be...some days I just want to wear my hair down...this “ponytail-for-6-months” thing is getting old.

It's L.'s fault. Her delightful arrival has initiated this shedding of my hair. And hair is not the only thing being lost and left behind.

I'm shedding pounds too, which is great. I like that kind of shedding. I'm nearly back to pre-pregnancy weight, although I don't think I'll be returning to pre-pregnancy shape for awhile...either in appearance or physical aptitude.

Modesty is shed quickly when giving birth.

"A few strangers want to watch me push a baby through my hoo-hah?...Oh, that's fine, come on in!" [Turned out mine was the only natural birth those students had ever witnessed.]

"Excuse me, nurse...um, I'm peeing in the bathroom, could you please bring me another iced diaper."

"Hello, man-I've-never-met-before...sure you can bring my lunch in. Don’t mind my lactating breasts hanging out while my baby and I are trying to figure out this nursing thing."

I've shed a few tears. Some were reasonably shed...most were likely hormonal, or due to the excessive amount of sleep I've shed.

And parenting these three children has shed some light on a few things; mostly on God's greatness and my own inadequacies. These have developed in me a more grace-filled perspective of my own parents and of parents in general.

Back to my hair, though...

So, I learned that hair follows a natural cycle of growing, becoming dormant, and shedding. During pregnancy, the increase of hormones in a woman's body prohibits the hair from being shed, as it normally would be. So generally about 1-3 months after delivery, as her hormone levels return to "normal" [pshhh, yah right, like our hormone's are ever "normal"], the hair that was previously prevented from falling out, is shed over a relatively short period of time. And the hair rejuvenating process continues as before.

The peak of this massive post-pregnancy hair shedding is typically 3-4 months after delivery, so I should be just about through - I seriously hope so!

This whole shedding thing made me think about how the Lord is always purifying our hearts.

The healthy things in our life continue to grow. The things that are dormant, useless, and dead, fall out. It's a cycle. We are constantly being renewed as believers in Jesus. But when an imbalance in our spiritual lives interferes with that "shedding" process, what is dormant and dead is prevented from being removed...until He delivers us. And then the icky, messy, gross process of shedding all that is lifeless begins. The sin is going to be dealt with - one way or another it will fall...but I tell you what, when it's held onto for a time, the shedding of it is a much messier ordeal.

So, there's a weird analogy for you...

…and possibly tmi.

But hopefully He can redeem my ramblings and bless your heart in some way through them.


"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." - Ephesians 4:22-24