Why I Fired My Amazing Wife

“Ashley”, I said in my best Donald Trump voice, “You’re fired!”

Speaking of Trump, he could be the only one with worse hair right now. 

First, let me say my wife is one of the most gifted people I know. She is an incredible mom, and an even better wife.  She’s smart and witty. Her cooking is top notch. And if you give her a can of spray paint, she can make any old, worthless item look like it just came off the shelf at IKEA.  

But, if you give her a pair of scissors….Now that’s a different story.

She has been working on me for years to give her the chance to cut my hair.  I finally gave in a few months ago and decided I would give her a shot. “We’ll save 20 bucks, and I’ll go have a professional fix it if I end up looking like a matted coyote”, I thought to myself as I sat down in our makeshift barber’s chair.

While I appreciated her effort and hard work, my hair was a little choppy afterwards. I decided I could live with it—she’s the only one I really need to attract—and smiled as I thought about how she’ll only get better with time.

The second hair cut was better, but still a little uneven. The third cut was a regression. I was trying to be polite and not say anything, but she eventually admitted (six days after the cut and right after I had stood in front of over 100 people to speak), “I think I did a poor job on your hair!”

Lesson learned. Cough up the 20 bucks and go to a professional. 

They say experience is one of the best ways to learn, and repeated experience is one of the worst. In this case, it took repeated experience to discover I should have been loyal to my initial gut feeling.

  

As we near the end of another year, I’ve been reflecting on other lessons I’ve learned over the past 11 months.  Some have been a lot less humorous and much more costly. The common denominator is that I don’t want to take the same classes next year, so I’m committed to reflecting, evaluating, and changing.

So, I recently asked God two simple questions: What did you teach me this year? What changes need to be made to build upon this? I didn't exactly have to twist His arm for answers. In fact, I sensed His delight that I would even ask. As much as I don't want to experience the same hard lessons over and over, I think God is even more passionate about me getting it.  

I also think this process should include a trusted friend. Invite someone to do the same thing, and then find time to meet for a cup of coffee and share what you each discovered. Lastly, give them permission to speak into your life and hold you accountable in the coming months. I'm confident God will bless your intentionality.

This is what Ashley and I did last night, and it actually led to a great conversation. After asking her if she wanted to share what she learned this year, she quipped, “Not to cut your hair again!”

I’m happy to hold her accountable on that one.