Monday, August 11, 2008

China childhood Memories - When God said No


When I was a little girl in China, I had a book of fairy tales. These were the tiny fairy-like princesses that did good things for the world, the flowers, the trees etc. It was such a fun and magical thing to read about them.

My hair is naturally curly. In the humidity of China, it got very curly and very snarly. (In those days, we didn't have products to put on our hair to make it more manageable.) I was only 5 yrs and in the school for missionary children and had a hard time brushing and combing the snarls out of my hair.

Consequently, I used to pray that my hair would turn straight and that my dolls would turn into fairies!

God said "NO".

Now that I am older, I am SO GLAD that God answered in this way. I have never had to have perms or spend time curling my hair. In fact, now it is just naturally wavy and very easy to take care of. I just wash it, comb it in place, and leave it alone to dry!

And about the fairies - now WHAT ever would I have done with a bunch of fairies flying around????

Sometimes God answers "No" and it is for our own good. He sees the whole picture and the future and knows what is ultimately best for us!

18 comments:

Rose of Sharon said...

God does know what He is doing doesn't He! Praise His name!

:0) Sharon

Robin said...

Amen Ruthie! God knows better than we do.

I used to wish for curly hair and can only have it through perms (which I haven't had since I was in college) hot rollers or curling irons (usually about once a week).

Julie said...

I wanted blue eyes.
Still brown. Thats alright.
Did you draw the picture, or is it from a book?

Technonana said...

Ruthie, you gave me such a wonderful laugh!!! Isn't funny how when we are small we pray for such funny things... and now that we are older, sometimes when still pray for some of the 'silliest' things... I sure that's how our Father see us.. He probably laughs at us and says, "Child, what a silly thing for you to want, when I have something so much better for you."
Blessings on you Sweet Friend!!!

Cottage Contessa said...

Amen Ruthie, God is AWESOME! Wishing you a wonderful week sweetie!
Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)

Ruthie said...

Julie - I sketched the picture. It's not exactly what I remember, but couldn,t find a picture I could use. At least it gives us the idea. ha.

Robin said...

Wow Ruthie - great picture!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ruthie. Oh, you're so right. We think we know best sometimes! You have beautiful hair! Mine is as straight as a poker, as my Mother would say.
Aren't you glad God know how to be God? lol
Be a sweetie,
Shelia :)

Natalie said...

It's so hard sometimes for our little minds to comprehend God's master plan for us...even about our hair. And let's face it...hair is a big deal to women and little girls :) "No" isn't always a "negative word".

Natalie said...

I forgot to mention that when I was a little girl I always wanted dimples. My best friend had dimples and I wanted some just like her. I'd got to sleep each night poking my pointer fingers into each cheek in hopes that I'd wake up with dimples. It didn't work.

Now my precious baby has one little dimple on his side cheek that I love to admire when he grins and laughs.

God takes care of even the little things in life.

Nana Trish is Living the Dream said...

Your little fairy is adorable. Very good job Ruthie. You are blessed to have naturally curly hair. It looks like it has so much body and easy to take care of. It seems He has so many wonderful things for us, even though we think we always need more. Thanks for this post.

Jan Parrish said...

Mom, this is too funny. I always wanted to have curly hair because you did. It seemed so unfair that I ended up with straight and Benny got curly. Guys don't care!

a portland granny said...

Ruthie, I had the same kind of hair. It was a chore each day for my Mom to get it ito curls around her finger. I thought about the little fairies that were in your book...and I thought back to the wishes and imaginations I held dear as a child. Storybooks brought such pleasure.

I think your hair turned out just right! You lost the tight curl, but now have perfect hair. You are very fortunate. I lost the tight curl, but the wave eventually left, also.

What is happening with your knee? Anything new?
Hope you are having some relief!

Warmly,
Joan

Melanie said...

so very true..so true!

Charlotte said...

So true. I got permanents when I was a little girl. I remember when I was about 10 having long hair - permed - my mother had the same problem as you had brushing my hair and getting all the tangles out. I remember she had a wire brush and that helped, but I remember yelling a lot. If she had just left it straight it would have solved the problem, but I guess Shirley Temple had too much influence on my generation. We were all suppose to have curls.

Deb said...

Ruthie, nice sketch, you are very talented. You're right too. I use to pray that I could fly. Now what would I be flying around for. Deb

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hello Ruthie!

I just found your blog through your comment on Nanatrish's blog. It was so nice to read your posts this morning.

I too have very wavy (sometimes frizzy) hair and I use to iron it straight when I was young but now I love the curls.

Lenka said...

Dear Ruthie! Thank you for the sweet comment in my blog! Sure I came to your blog to meet you and learn more about you. And I found this lovely post about small girl, living in China. I gentle smile, when I read what you was praying about… You wrote it so well and so simple – I almost see it as a picture… Gosh, what a beautiful memories you share…. And Thanks Good – some girls newer became too adult! Reading your posts I can tell that you one of them, still able to discover new things in the world, enjoy it and share with others… Bless you for it!