Locks of Love

Last Thursday I cut my 10 inch ponytails (2 of them!) to donate to Locks of Love. Hannah, a sweet girl from church, and I have been planning on this for over a year. This is the short version of the "why" for donating.

My sophomore year in college, I donated my hair for the first time. It was such a neat experience for me, I knew I wanted to eventually donate again. When I came home after donating to LOL, Hannah was full of questions about why I chose to donate my long hair. We talked about what they do with the ponytails and who will end up getting them. It wasn't long after that that her mom told me that Hannah decided to donate her hair too. So a couple of months later, I went with Hannah to donate her hair to LOL.

A little over a year passed and I didn't think much of donating my hair again. When I returned home after my first summer in China, I cut my hair short again (but not for LOL). Hannah asked me if we could grow our hair out and donate it together. Of course I told her "Yes!" So began the process for the second time except this time I wasn't doing it alone which made it much more fun.

Several months into growing out my hair, I came across the Bramblett family blog. One of their sweet daughters, Ayla, was dealing with childhood cancer. Each time I would brush or fix my hair, I found myself thinking about and praying for this sweet girl who was battling cancer. Ayla's smile always brings joy to my heart each time I see her picture. I continued to pray for her as the months passed and my hair was growing. Hannah soon began reading their blog and praying for Ayla too.

So this time, Hannah and I donated our hair in honor of Ayla. At times when I would get frustrated with the inconvenience of long hair, I would think back to Ayla knowing that someone like her would benefit from my ponytails. It's a crazy thought!

Before

Cutting my ponytailsTada! They're gone!!

Hannah's long hairBeautiful Hannah

We took Ayla's picture with us when we donated...since it was in honor of her! She is such a beauty and I love this picture of Ayla!

Halle (Hannah's sister) helping us hold Ayla's picture!
The fun didn't stop there. Jenny and my friend Megan came to watch me donate my hair, and they BOTH ended up donating theirs as well!!