One thing I absolutely love about my Dad is that he always seems to put things into perspective for me. The last few weeks have been full of stress for me, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Stress can certainly be good stress. Nonetheless, it seems like I have constantly been moving the past few weeks as I have tried to manage both personal and academic life.

A few weeks ago, I went home and for the first time in my life, I saw my Dad with no hair. He welcomed me with a hug and a smile, and with his spontaneity and witty sense of humor, he asked me, “Like my new hairdo?” I just smiled and said “of course!”

As he was losing his hair the few weeks prior to this, because of chemotherapy, there were times when he would say, “It’s not a big deal,” and yet the fact that it was different, completely foreign to him, made it sometimes seem like a big deal.

Through all of this, I found myself constantly encouraging him, assuring him that he will still be his same lovable, strong, compassionate self, with or without hair. Then, a few days later, he told me, “You know what? I’m not going to let this keep me down. It’s just hair. In the grand scheme of things, God is bigger than all of this, and he can use me regardless of whether or not I have hair. So why worry over something insignificant like hair?”

Dad has recently shown me that things happen. Life happens. Big things, small things, they just happen. In the midst of all these things, why not praise God and glorify His name? Why not proclaim to the whole world what Christ is doing in our lives? Why not show that nothing will keep us from His love and that nothing will deter us from Him?

After telling me that he wasn’t going to let losing his hair keep him from rejoicing in God, he said, “You know what? I’m going to have fun with this. I’m going to buy really cool caps. Let’s order some right now!” At this point, Dad was turning his outlook around. Instead of dwelling on not having hair, he decided that he would get excited about it since it would give him an excuse to buy new hats!

So that’s what we did. We bought him several caps, a Houston Texans one, a Dallas Cowboys one, a Baylor Bear one, a Texas A&M Aggie one, plus he already had several Texas Longhorn ones. I also bought him one with a Superman logo on it, since after all, he is my Superman. In all the fun of this, I also bought some caps to add to my collection, an Aggie and a Longhorn one in addition to the Baylor one I already had.

I had a blast, in the midst of all the excitement, by spending time with Dad looking at all the options we had for new hats. There were so many! It made me realize this: We can let the small things such as academic stress or not having hair keep us down and keep us from praising God or we can glorify Him and thank Him for these circumstances by finding ways to become positive in the midst of our trials.

Because while things change, while new things pop up in our lives, such as “Boom! You have no hair,” one thing stays the same, and that is the love of Christ. I thought more about this as I returned to school today after a great weekend with Dad, consisting of a Friends marathon (almost done with season 6) and lots and lots of football. On my way here, two songs, played by K-Love, really stuck out to me. One of them was “Your Love Never Fails” sung by the Newsboys.

Nothing can separate
Even if I run away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes
You have new mercy for me everyday
‘Cause Your love never fails

(Chorus)
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night
But joy comes in the morning

The wind is strong and the water’s deep
I’m not alone here in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I’d reach the other side
Your love never fails

Chorus

And when the oceans rage
I don’t have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my good
You make all things work together for my good

Chorus

And when the oceans rage
I don’t have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

I absolutely love everything about this song, because it speaks volumes of truth. Christ really does stay the same through the ages, for all eternity, always the same, never changing. He has so much love for us. It’s more than love, it’s agape love, meaning unconditional, everlasting, never changing, completely selfless love. No matter what we face, His love never fails. No matter what happens, big or small, even the loss of hair, He truly makes all things work together for His glory!

The very next song was by Stephen Curtis Chapman called “Glorious Unfolding,” a song that reminds me that our stories are still being written. Everything that is happening and will happen can be used for the glory of God if we allow Him to guide us. I love the chorus to this song:

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and SEE and you will be amazed
You’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding

Our stories are still unfolding! As new things happen, both good and bad, may we always find ways to use those circumstances for His glory. If He makes all things work together for our good, if our stories are still being written, then why can’t we use the small things such as losing our hair to show others what God is doing in our lives?

All of these new and sometimes scary things can be used to share His love with others. These new things can work for His glory in building His Kingdom! Isaiah 43:18-19 says this: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (NIV).

Don’t let your circumstances keep you from focusing on the Glory of God. Can you not see that He is writing your testimony, that He is going before you, that He will always be there with you, that He makes all things work together for our good!? God is constantly doing a new thing in our lives. Let’s use these things to constantly glorify Him and show others how He is changing our lives!

So if you lose your hair, buy some hats! AND PRAISE HIS NAME!

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Chapman, Steven Curtis, 2013. “Glorious Unfolding.” K-Love. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

Newsboys. Your Love Never Fails. By Anthony Skinner and Chris McClarney, 2011. K-Love. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

New International Version. Bible Gateway. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

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Your Love Never Fails by the Newsboys

Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman