Dawna

Hair Stylist — Houston, TX

I think it’s really neat how God uses some of the most ordinary conversations to remind us of the things we need to be reminded of. It’s proof that there is indeed no such thing as an ordinary moment.

Since I've started college at A&M, every trip back home to Houston usually includes a haircut. My hair stylist is a heavy-set woman with a smoker’s voice named Dawna. Whenever she cuts my hair, I can never guess what we end up talking about. Dawna has had somewhat of a rough life. She and her husband are divorced, and her father passed away this year, so now she faces the arduous task of raising her three daughters on her own. But God has been doing some big things in her life. With the death of her father, Dawna has experienced a spiritual awakening. My conversations with Dawna during the past few visits to the hair salon have been much more than the typical small talk. She talks about having a greater dependence on God to help her through the day and how He has blessed her so abundantly in the past few months. Yesterday, when I went to get my hair cut, there was one thing in particular she said that stuck. I can’t remember her exact words, but it was something along the lines of, “Now I know we’re supposed to ask God to provide and to give us our daily bread, but I've heard that it’s okay to ask for dessert every once in a while.” I believe that the Spirit spoke to me in that moment through her, reminding me of something I needed to hear.

Fast-forward an hour or two, and I’m out in the middle of my long run for the week. I really enjoy these longer workouts, and I've been taking advantage of this time to let my mind wander and to talk with the Lord about whatever comes to thought. Around mile 5 or so, I was reflecting on the conversation with Dawna earlier that morning, and a thought came to the forefront of my mind:

You do not have, simply because you do not ask.

I began to evaluate myself: What do I feel like I’m lacking? What is it I’m not asking for? As I thought about it more and more, I was reminded of a passage in James that these words originate from:

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. // James 4:1-3

Letting this scripture sink in, I took a look at myself and saw where I've been wrong. Every day, I pass up countless opportunities to ask God for the things that I desire. With these missed opportunities, I experience the anxieties and troubles that come from trying to acquire things all by myself. I feel like I’m lacking, and yet I possess the ability to receive all things! Like the scripture says, the desires that I have wage war inside of me, leading me to covet, quarrel and fight. I've realized that a lot of my sins stem from believing the lie that God is withholding good from me. How much less would that lie be convincing if I asked God for all things, trusting that he will provide exactly what is needed?

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! // Matthew 7:9-11

The reality is that God longs to be gracious to his children, and he gives only that which is good. Jesus promises us that he will do anything that we ask in his name, to bring glory to the Father (John 14:13). When we ask God for something, it moves us to a place where we are much more capable of receiving his blessings. Any anxiety that comes from want is erased because rather than trusting in ourselves to acquire, we can trust in God to provide.

So today and every day, ask God for all that you need in expectation that he will provide…and don’t hesitate to ask for some dessert as well!

Thank you Lord for being a loving Father who gives generously. I confess to you all the times that I have acted without faith and not trusted you to provide. Thank you for making extraordinary things out of ordinary moments and conversations, reminding me of the things I need to hear. Thank you for being so gracious and generous to me even when I don’t ask! Help me to bring all of my wants and desires to you, trusting that I will receive only that which is good for me. Thank you for every breath, as each one is evidence that you are not done with me yet. Amen.