Blue Hair Monday

Sometimes at school I get the pressing urge to dye my hair a really random color and wear the weirdest clothes I can find. On some level, I've never really liked blending in, but I'm learning that the more I journey through life, the easier it is to blend in.
In the school I'm in now, full of brand name jeans and perfect style, it can be even harder to feel as though I'm unique~ hence the hair thing. I wonder what it would be like to walk around in my favorite purple dress and heels with my hair glimmering a deep shiny blue. I'm a jeans kind of girl anyway, so "dress clothes" have never been my favorite attire.
I like to get dressed up for something special, but day in and day out I go with jeans and a sweatshirt, hair in a pony tail or a bun... (but I'm getting better at wearing it down!) I look like everybody else. I think having blue-hair Monday would help everybody loosen up a little bit.
Especially as girls, we really push the fashion envelope in the name of expression. Even my friend, who's a missionary in a country where women have to dress in long-sleeved shirts and long skirts, has figured out a way to look different. She sends me pictures of cool shoes she finds or henna flowers she had inked on her hand. There are millions of possibilities.
We dye our hair some crazy color. We're grungy one day and couture the next, and sometimes we even pull it off with amazing flair! We can be girly or edgy or athletic or all all that blended into one look. But it's still just a look. At the end of the day, we want to remind the world we're just a little bit different from everybody else. Nobody wants to blend in.
I'm learning that my wildly creative and imaginative God didn't create me to blend, either; He created me to shine. He compared us to stars in the universe. He told us He loves us more than smeared sunsets. We're bound to stand out, but it has very little to do with what color we dye our hair or if it's a pink flip-flop or black stilettos kind of day and everything to do with our hearts.
Lately I've been thinking about what it means to shine, because I've been reading about Daniel. Early on, long before his run-in with some hungry lions, Daniel was making decisions for his God alone and not for other people. Daniel was good-looking, smart, and ambitious (like the other guys serving the king), but he got noticed, because he decided to take a stand. Taking a stand on what you know is right, even when nobody agrees, makes standing out a no-brainer.
Daniel refused to defile himself with the king's food and drink (Daniel 1:8), a choice that landed him some criticism at first. Eventually people could see Daniel was healthier than the other guys. His choice to please God above everybody else made him stand out. But that was only one example of why Daniel didn't blend in. He wasn't just concerned with the externals; he was faithful to God even when no one was looking. He made knowing and spending time with God a priority.
Wrapped in a prayer life that rocked his life, and eventually the whole kingdom, Daniel profoundly influenced his world because of his deep, personal relationship with God. As he stood before the king with tact and grace, God revealed deep intricate mysteries to Daniel. Heaven stood strong in the face of death. The Daniel I've always pictured is sitting in a room full of lions, but long before that moment, Daniel knew how to live in an influence his society while being completely devoted to God.
The many conversations God wants to have with me in my lifetime, the secret, hidden, amazing moments He's waiting to share, won't start in public when I'm trying to stand out. They happen in private, when I'm alone with Him, on my knees in worship, in adoration, talking to Him and listening for His voice.
His Word changes the way I see the world, see my life and see the people in it. Our stories are unfolding. His plan is huge. I don't want to miss it. I want to seize the big opportunities to make a stand for Him. I want to help people without making a big deal about it, without even telling people I'm doing it, because what's going on inside my heart is the real measure of whether I blend in or stand out.
The moral of the story is this~ Being relevant to my generation has a lot less to do with how I look or what bands I can name-drop and a lot more to do with how I let God work in me in such a way that it affects other people. That process never ends. That process makes me different. On the average city street, in the average school, I might blend in. But in HIS mind, I have a purpose and a plan totally unique to me- and so do you.
Daniel's words in 2:28 are some of my favorites: "There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries." That same God calls you and me friend. Never settle for anything less than a radical relationship with Him~ a relationship that gives you the wings to dream big dreams and love extravagantly.
In the end, love never blends.
Love stands out.
Love changes things.
By the way, I'll just settle for a loud headband here and there. But if I ever dye my hair blue, I'll let you know.

~Poppins