Friday, May 16, 2014

Blessings in Stupid Mistakes by Amber Schamel



"Amber, this is really stupid. You should have known better."

I have said these words to myself many times, but particularly during my latest mishap.

First, you have to know something about me: I love curly hair. I mean LOVE it. I think it is gorgeous and am known to scold people for straightening their luscious curls. It didn't take long for me to notice the common denominator in most women I considered beautiful...they all had curly hair. Add to that my obsession with the Civil War era and their perfect ringlet hairstyles and you have what is more than just a fascination with curls. That being said, it seems almost torture to me that all of my sisters have naturally curly hair, all four of them, but not me. How else do you spell n-o-t f-a-i-r?

I have tried almost every method of curling my hair. Hot irons, hot rollers, wands, gels, sprays...yet after all that work, the curls come out in a matter of minutes. And yes, I've tried hairspray. That just makes them come out faster.

Anyway, the other day I saw these special curlers at the store. They promised tight and bouncy ringlets without heat or damage, so I bought them with great expectation. (Now, some of you experienced people are stifling a laugh and probably know what is coming next, but just humor me for a moment.)
 
We had a special occasion and a little extra time, so I decided it would be a good time to try out my new curlers. I washed my hair, combed it and pulled out my new miracle workers. They were round curlers with these fish-bone thingies sticking out to help make the curls more bouncy.

Those of you that know me also know I have quite a head of hair. It's fairly thick and long enough to reach about the middle of my thigh. This being the case, I set up a timer so I would know how long it took to get all the little curlers in my hair. At about twenty minutes in, I was doing pretty well, until I sorta dropped one as I rolled it up. It didn't fall out. It was then that I realized I couldn't unroll it, or pull it out. The fish-bone thingies were tangled in my hair and it was pretty stuck.

Uh oh.

I better see if these others will come out. One came out just fine, the others, not so much. I now had about a dozen curlers stuck in a tangled mass that had been my hair a few moments ago.

Great. Just great. I feel really stupid now. I should have seen this coming.

As I lectured myself about my vanity and how I should be happy with the hair God gave me, I tried in vain to untangle the mess. Fortunately, there was someone there to help me redeem my head. An hour and sixteen minutes later I was very happy to have my straight, somewhat frizzy hair back.

When the dust settled and I related my adventure to my sisters, a thought struck me. God is so good to me.

Now your brow may be wrinkling and you're thinking 'what on earth does getting curlers caught in your hair have to do with God being good to you?'

Fair question.

First of all, I realized that even though I'd made a stupid mistake, even though I'd ignored that quiet voice inside my head telling me it wasn't a good idea, even though I deserved what had happened to me because of my vanity, there were still blessings every step of the way

1) I realized my mistake before I had entangled my entire head of hair, and that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't clumsily dropped the curler. That was a blessing.

2) I had the time to deal with it. I could have been rushed to get out the door and had a dozen curlers stuck to my head, but I had listened to the voice inside my head when it said I should give myself a lot of time.

3) There was someone there to help me through. I couldn't have fixed it by myself.

4) In the end, I came through all right.

So really, the whole curler episode was a blessing in disguise, because even though it was a small thing, it ended up being a parable to me of God's never ending faithfulness and grace. As Christians, when we go through trials we have a hope, a comfort and a blessing that He will be with us every step of the way dropping little blessings to help us make it through. We can rejoice in all things, because it is all worked out to be in our favor and for our good. (Romans 8:28)

In other words, God can take lemons and make lemonade, rotten bananas and make banana bread. 


What blessings has God dropped on you lately? Are you going thru something that's hard to spot the silver lining?  Tell me about it!



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Best selling and multi-published author Amber Schamel has a passion for history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its best". A homeschool graduate from a family of 12 children, Amber found her calling early in life. First published at age 21, she has continued to hone her craft and was honored to judge the 2014 ACFW Genesis contest.  
Between ministry, family and working in their family businesses, Amber loves to connect with readers. Find her on the Stitches Thru Time blog, or on any of the major social media sites.

12 comments:

  1. LOVE this, Amber! Whooie, you gave me a laugh, girl--because I've done the same thing! Ha! My hair wasn't quite as long, so that was a blessing. But I still can't figure out how anyone with more than 4 inches of hair length successfully uses them. :)

    Speaking of blessings, I recently obligated myself to read several books outside my favorite genre of historical fiction. Silly of me, when I don't devote enough time to my own writing anyway, but as a side benefit, I found a new genre I love. :) Now I'm shelving romantic suspense books alongside my historical romances. I'm excited about that blessing.

    Great post. Sweet message. Makes me think. :)

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    1. Hi Natalie! So good to see you!

      LOL, I figured someone would relate to this embarrassing story. I wondered the same thing about those curlers. I thought about trying to sell them on ebay or something, since I'm obviously not going to use them any more, but I didn't want to be responsible for the same thing happening to someone else!

      That's awesome! I am currently reading the Jane Austen Encounter by Donna Fletcher Crow, and so far I am really enjoying it. It's a cozy mystery, which is also outside of my typical genre, so I'm right there with you! *high five*

      Amber Schamel
      Christian Author
      www.AmberSchamel.com

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  2. Ha! Amber you make me smile! I once decided to become blonde (they are supposed to have more fun) and bleached my hair, a day after I had my hair permed. (Duh). As I was rinsing the bleach out, you got it....my hair was breaking off. Ended up with a buzz cut from a lecturing beautician and a laugh from my boss when I had to call in to work "bald".

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    1. WOW! You poor thing! I guess this is the reason we all love the scene in Anne of Green Gables where she tries to dye her hair black and it turns green. We can all relate! LOL

      Amber Schamel
      Christian Author
      www.AmberSchamel.com

      Delete
  3. Great post, Amber. I enjoy reading about learning experiences. When I was young and had long hair, the rage was straight hair. My hair was already pretty straight, but not as a board, so I ironed it. That's right, laid it over the ironing board and ironed it. I guess the blessing was I didn't burn myself. When I finally had it cut short, it felt so good, I never went back.

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    Replies
    1. Seriously? I'm trying to imagine how that would work....how do you iron your own hair? Haha, the things we women will do for beauty eh?

      Thanks for sharing Elaine!

      Amber Schamel
      Christian Author
      www.AmberSchamel.com

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  4. I tweeted this! My guess is that every woman has a "hair story" and will relate. :)

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    1. Haha, probably. I mean...I would HOPE I'm not the only one.
      Thanks for sharing it, my friend.

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  5. Amber, I was led to this blog post by a Tweet on it. I have curly hair with its own mind, often acting wild like a proud poster-child for the Frizz Party. I've given up--accepting it for what it is. But, your analogy of accepting one's hair to the blessings He has given us, as well as His grace and faithfulness, was nothing shy of brilliant.

    And, I just Tweeted your blog segment.

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    Replies
    1. LUCKY!!!! Though you probably don't agree with me. :)
      I'm glad you found the article and enjoyed it! It's nice to meet you, Elaine. Maybe you'll even win the giveaway this week. We're giving away a copy of Loving the Lawman by Ruth Logan Herne.

      Thanks for sharing too!

      Amber Schamel
      www.AmberSchamel.com

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  6. Hey, Amber--
    I know a method for curling hair that REALLY is no heat or damage... if you're still interested!! LOL!! Can't promise that it will work, but it wouldn't hurt you if you tried it. ;) Let me know if you want to know how. =D

    ReplyDelete