Free Haircut – Reflections from a LUM Volunteer

Free Haircut Day at LUM

Today, as I sit at the front desk, I can see and hear some small miracles going on in the hallway.

A woman has come to give free haircuts. We have had eight men so far, who have come in looking the very best they can in their circumstances, and leave with a brand new look.

They touch their hair and lift up their heads. When I tell them how good they look, they smile broadly. They have already ducked into the restroom to take a look, and they know they look good.

However, this is less a ministry of haircutting and hygiene, and much more a ministry of touch, of kindness, of normalcy, of conversation, of humanity. I hear the voices down in that hall. They are calm and stress-free.

Someone is touching those men, standing close to them as people who work on hair do. I wonder when that has happened last for them. There is a little bit of laughter now then; the seriousness of their day relieved for 20 minutes. They are doing what most of us do; this is one of those every-day-life sorts of things that we say is necessary and makes us feel good. Twenty minutes of normalcy.

The woman speaks with interest in their lives, and she always ends by saying she will pray for them. That is what is going on down the hall. I am so blessed to be here to see it.

Donna Enersen
volunteer receptionist
September 11, 2014

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