I turned 31 this past summer and it seems like just yesterday I was in 5th grade. 20 years ago was the year that changed my life and set me on a collision course with God!

I was sitting in Mrs. Thorburn’s class in Brookings School. Mrs. Thorburn was an incredible teacher who didn’t put up with nonsense and we got along great because I loved to be the class clown! She was my favorite teacher in 5th grade and that year turned out to be a year I would never forget.

I had semi-long hair and would often allow it to cover my face while in class and Mrs. Thorburn would not stand for that. I remember the warnings that she gave me almost as if I could hear her voice today “If you don’t get your hair cut, I am going to call your mother and cut it for you.” I remembered chuckling as if she was joking until one day after school she informed me that she had called my mother and received permission to cut my hair.

I stayed after class that day and she proceeded to do what can only be described as premeditated follicle homicide. She was my teacher not my hairdresser, but it definitely couldn’t hurt due to the fact that my normal haircut was done by a Flowbee vacuum attachment (my dad loved them). As she cut my hair, there was a moment when things became silent and she said “That’s weird.”

“What’s weird?” I said. She replied “There is a bald spot on the back of your head.” Sure enough there was a spot the size of a half dollar on the back of my head that was smooth as if no hair had ever been there before. I remembered thinking “What did you do? That wasn’t there before!”

My parents brought me to the doctors and after many, many tests the doctors told us that I had enlarged thyroids and that my immune system, which would normally fight against them to resolve the problem, was fighting against my hair cells. The medical term is Alopecia Universalis. The doctor told my parents that within a short period of time I would lose all my hair and there was little chance it would return.

As an 11 year old boy I was devastated. I just wanted to be normal and now it could never happen. I would always be the different one, the ridiculed, the picked on, the hurt, the empty and in that moment there was no light at the end of the tunnel. The only comfort I had was found under the snug embrace of the baseball cap I never left home without.

For years I blamed God and begged Him to fix it! I don’t think I ever cried that much in my life. I wore that hat for years and even had permission to keep it on at school. It has been a long time since then……20 years to be exact have past and there are a few things I have learned.

1. God knows what He is doing even if you don’t!

As a student pastor the things that I went through from 5th grade on, has helped me to relate and have compassion for students who don’t feel normal, who are ridiculed, picked on, hurting, feel empty and different. I am so grateful that I was allowed to experience my childhood to prepare me for ministry.

2. A relationship with Jesus is what was missing not my hair.

If that never happened I would have never starting crying out to God. I would have never became a follower of Jesus! That haircut placed God and I on a collision course that would not only change my life but my eternity as well.

3. Sometimes what’s best for God and others might not be easy for you but will always be worth it!

So here I am 20 years later and my last check up was great. Great health, great vision, thyroids are normal. I work with teenagers at High Pointe Church, trying to help them navigate through life while encouraging them to never settle for normal when God can give you amazing wrapped in a haircut!

Romans 8:28 - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Alex Gomez