It all began a while back when our baby girl,the adorable anti-princess, asked to get her ear pierced again – not ears, just ear. She truly wanted her faced pierced, but she knew I would never give in on that one, so she opted for the top of her ear – ouch!

I didn’t want her to piercing anything on her face or head (she has her ears pierced, twice, and that’s enough). She’s bright, funny, and so much like me it’s frightening, but for some reason she thinks it’s a good idea to stick a rod through the the top of her ear ( I don’t). After much debate – and she’s one great debater– we gave in. She could pierce the top of her ear. Vaughn (that’s my amazing husband) and I figured we would use a little reverse psychology – we say yes, and she decides it’s not that cool after all. We were wrong. She did it. She is the proud owner of a spear in the top of her ear. (At least it’s pink.)

Am I pleased with this spear? No I’m not, or at least I wasn’t. Who wants their darling daughter to have a spear through her ear? Maybe some are okay with it, but not me. I know people will judge her for this choice. Much like I judge people with pierced eyebrows, lips, and noses.

Hmmm, is there a lesson here? While I pondered the situation, I came face to face with my own prejudice. I consider myself an open, loving, non-judgmental person. God is making it abundantly clear to me that I need to reevaluate my attitude and my heart. Just because someone has run a spear through her ear or has purple hair or a multitude of tattoos, doesn’t mean she (or he) doesn’t have a heart for Jesus – or can’t be reached by the gospel.

So, I’m the proud owner of a daughter with a spear in her ear. And yes, I’m proud of her. She has stood up to prejudice from people who know her and know her heart. She stands strong in her belief that you don’t put labels on people – and I support her. God is teaching me through this stubborn, bullheaded child (obviously traits she gets from her Dad). He’s teaching me to look beyond the skin to the heart. Isn’t that what He does to us? He looks at our heart. I can try to do the same and with His help I will succeed.

I’ll look at people a little differently today – and try not to judge (even if they have a spear in their ear).