Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

“Your hair looks so natural,” my husband said as I passed through the living room.

            Natural? I thought as a mental movie of the steps I take and the products I purchase began to play.

            First, there’s the scoop of collagen peptides I add to my first cup of coffee each morning. After breakfast, hair vitamins are in the handful I swallow. Occasionally I spray my scalp with a combination of essential oils, use shampoo and conditioner I must order, then apply no less than two products to further condition my hair. (Hair, by the way, that’s been low-lighted to cover the roots and high-lighted to frame my face.) I blow dry my hair to straighten it, use a curling iron to add a little movement, then spray it to prevent it from actually moving. All this so that it looks natural.

            I looked at my husband and said, “Thank you.”        

            It was funny to me, until I stopped to consider the people I think just naturally have homes that are always in order. And then there are the ones who never appear to be ruffled by circumstances, and those whose relationships seem effortless. Is it all just naturally their personalities?

            Maybe they, too, employ many steps behind the scenes. Do they nourish themselves with healthy, spiritual practices? Do they allow the heat of situations to reveal, and then smooth out their flaws? Do they have a running conversation with God throughout the day where they not only speak to Him, but listen to His guidance?

            The next time I look at someone and think I could never do that, be that, or have that… I hope I remember that unseen habits and disciplines might just have the results I desire.

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.