LOCKS OF LOVE

From the webpage of LOCKS OF LOVE comes these words; “ Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.”

I was so very proud of our Goddaughter Alanah this Sunday when she showed up at church and handed me most of her hair neatly tied into a pony-tail and wrapped in a bag.  She wanted to donate her hair for children who are suffering with diseases such as cancer that cause hair loss. We have a lot to learn from our children. This past year I have become increasingly aware of how the children in my life are teaching me constantly about the very basic principals of decent human behaviour and the power of the human spirit. We teach children about the nature of faith and what it means to live with Christian principals. On the feast of Pentecost 1999, Catherinanne and I were pleased to stand before the congregation at St. Mark’s as God parents for Alanah.  One of the biggest promises made in baptism is that we would “strive for peace and unity among all people” and that we would “respect the dignity of every human being.”   I want to highlight this one because I think it is a promise which Alanah is learning to do very well. Locks of Love provides a child who is suffering physical pain an opportunity to try as best they can to avoid the pain of being pushed aside and left on the fringe of what is “normal.” By taking the need for these children to ‘return to a sense of self, confidence and normalcy’ seriously, Alanah is offering a good example of what it means to respect each person’s dignity and in cutting her beautiful hair off she is ACTING to make a difference.

I have to say that action makes all the difference. When the leper was left alone and untouched for all of those years and Jesus of Nazareth walked into his life and touched him, embraced him, the miracle was the freedom from being demoralized, marginalized. The miracle was in giving back a little dignity. Jesus acted! Desmond Tutu emphasized the idea that if you, “Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Alanah is doing her “little bit” with a lot of hair and I am so proud of her. On Friday she will be 9 years old and is displaying the truth that we can all do the ‘right things’ at any age. I have been privileged to witness children that we love, each in their own way, doing their ‘little bits’ to make a big difference.  

Jesus said "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."