My sister-in-law texted me two pictures the other day. The first was of her sweet 4-year-old daughter. The second was of a small trash can with a considerable amount of hair in it.

Yup, you guessed right – her little hatchling had gotten hold of a pair of scissors and had decided to turn her bedroom into a hair salon where she bravely took on roles of owner, senior stylist and, of course, ever-eager client.

Oh and let’s not forget – she also moonlighted as the cleaner. Remember the picture of the trash can? My niece had availed of a broom and carefully disposed all evidence from the crime scene.

Well, almost all the evidence.

She had given herself noticeably short bangs. You know, the kind that can’t be “fixed” even if Toni and Guy personally decided to work their magic on your tresses.

She was likely “inspired” by her older cousin who had had her hair trimmed the previous evening. When asked why she had taken the unilateral decision to cut her hair, my niece answered with a poker straight face: “I want to look stylish.”

Thankfully for Her-Cuteness, she can get away with her minimalist, cutting edge (note the pun) hair-do. No real damage done.

But the funny incident reminded me of how we often take matters into our own hands. Like a spunky 4-year-old, we decide we know best.

If you’re like me, you don’t like playing the waiting game. In fact, you intensely dislike it. And you grab the nearest pair of scissors and decide to get some immediate results.

The Bible shares a bunch of stories about people who I’m calling “impromptu hairstylists” – folks who were eager to jump into action without truly paying much attention to God or considering the consequences.

There was Abraham’s wife, Sarah, who “helped” God along by giving her husband her maidservant, Hagar, so he could continue his lineage.

There was Isaac’s wife, Rebecca, who resorted to tips and tricks to ensure that her favorite son got his father’s blessing.

There were the Israelites who didn’t like God’s plan of being under judges and prophets and insisted on being ruled by a king.

There was Saul who did as he pleased but also “consulted” God, like He was a good-luck charm to drag along on his battles against the Philistines.

The list of I-know-best people from Scriptures goes on. Each of them wanted to get things done their way and on their timetable.

Sounds uncannily familiar, doesn’t it? In our “I want it done yesterday” culture, we tend to interpret God-ordained delays as His forgetfulness or His powerlessness. And we decide to grab those scissors and take the most alluring short-cut possible.

Now, I’m not advocating that we procrastinate or twiddle our thumbs or sit tight and let opportunities pass us by. But how often do we run ahead of God with our plans – and then look back and sheepishly summon Him to tag along?

Recently, God has been speaking to me about just weaving in (note the hair terminology) ‘prayer pauses’ through my day.

Somehow, prayer has become the last resort for us. We hear or make statements like, “The only thing left to do is pray.” It’s like we turn to prayer only when all other options run out.

But what if instead of a last resort, prayer became our first recourse?

What if we paused in prayer before we grabbed those shears? Would there be fewer regrets in our lives? Would we be living slower – but possibly more fulfilling – lives?

Friends, in the delays and in the disappointments, God is working. He is working in us for our good and His glory.

We all have our own version of wanting to “look stylish” whether it’s success in our work, or finding a life partner or getting a little blue “verified” checkmark next to our Instagram handles. But I would encourage us to pause in prayer – because it gives us a different perspective.

It’s not just about growing in patience. It’s about trusting that we have a good God who is able. It’s about trusting that when He says wait, He hasn’t quit – He’s just working in a way that we can’t comprehend with our myopic vision and our feeble minds. It’s about trusting Him even through the “no’s” because He completely and absolutely and indisputably knows what’s best for us.

So, let’s build in those prayer pauses to understand the heart of God.

Meanwhile, if you really want to cut your bangs, I think DIY is the way to go. Like an industrious 4-year-old, just make sure you have a trash can and broom handy to make cleaning up easier.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash