The banishment also hurt because to a degree, what her father was saying was yes you live here, but I want to pretend you are not here… I want to make your presence as small and as insignificant as possible. It is easier for me to try and crush your spirit than it is for me to affirm your worth and build you up. It is much easier for me to try and dismiss you, rather than taking (or making) the time needed to listen to you, to try and understand you - much less attempting to comprehend the incredible depth of your heart and soul and mind.. Completely entangled in his own insecurities and foolish, bloated pride, her father reminded her of the immature boys (the bullies) at school – the types that would pull your braids and taunt you when you cried… The male whose only ‘proof’ of manhood lay in his ability to ridicule, in the use of sharp demeaning words, and intentionally trying to intimidate someone smaller than him- what a brave man, what a noble feat!!

Just as hair cannot be forced to grow more quickly than intended, you cannot force someone to love you and respect you – respect must be earned. A good man leads by example. He invests himself in others. He uses his strength to help others, not to cut them down or reduce them to pieces.. Words and deeds can hurt the heart, doing much damage in an instant; just as the quick stroke of cold, steel scissors can erase a lifetime of care and growth a woman has put into her long, beautiful hair. Fortunately in due time a lady’s hair can grow back, but sadly it is not so easy to heal wounds of the heart… How does one put a broken heart back together…?