His Word is Law (Exercise 1)

Elizabeth's sun-kissed blonde hair sat in an airtight, lumpy bun on the top of her head—but Jesus wanted it that way. Mother didn’t let Elizabeth put pretty bows or barrettes in her hair. In fact, Mother didn’t let Elizabeth touch her hair at all.

“Mother, why can’t I get a haircut?” Elizabeth had asked on far too many occasions.

“Because this is our sacrifice to God, honey. How many times have we had this conversation? God likes our hair long and natural. He doesn’t like for us to play with it. He wants us to keep our hair long and pretty because we’re proud to be girls, just like he made us. When you grow up and get married, you’ll keep your hair long to look nice and pretty for your husband. He’ll like it better that way. Little girls shouldn’t go around trying to look like little boys—Jesus says so in the Bible, Elizabeth, and his word is law.”

Mother often got lost in the slippery, tangled thread of her monologues. Elizabeth often got lost staring out the window at the vast expanse of rural Houston terrain. She found that, if she started long enough, she would forget who and where she was. She liked it that way.