What Should I Wear?

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

I am not a real girly-girl.  Sometimes I think I’d like to be, and other times I try to be…but when it really comes down to it, I just want to be comfortable.  In fact, I would choose a comfortable sweatshirt over a pair of cute heels any day!  But, there’s something about dressing with “style” that makes me feel better about myself.  Now, it’s not that I have any sense of what style is, but I can do a pretty good job of matching my outfit with what I see in the Sunday ads – if I happen to have those items of clothing on hand.  But if I have to go shopping..look out!  Rarely will I ever go shopping for clothes for myself alone – my sisters or a friend are a must (God bless them!).  But if I’m in a bind where no one can go with me, I will just buy what is on the mannequin.  And if the poor mannequin is wearing my size…I have no shame in stripping the mannequin!  A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do sometimes, right?

Anyway, Tuesday this week was a bit of a hectic morning for me.  I’d lost track of time, and really lacked motivation to get going anyway, but then came the challenge of finding something to wear.  I’m sure you ladies can relate.  After trying on five different outfits and combinations, I was out of time and out of creativity (and we’d already thrown out the Sunday paper, so there was no match-it-up combos going on this morning!), so the last outfit on had to be the one I wore.

As I scrambled to get my things together and out the door, I thought about how often we allow our appearance to dictate our attitudes.  I mean, what is it about dressing “classy” that makes us feel better about ourselves?  And why do others treat us differently when we are dressed like a mannequin from a department store versus someone who just crawled out of bed (don’t worry, my sister has reassured me that lounge pants are NOT acceptable as outdoor wear…not even at Wal-mart).

Paul in Colossians, writes, ““Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)  I LOVE The Message version of this passage:

“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.  How cool is that.  Imagine, if we wore love all the time – even in our lounge pants – how others would treat us?  Better yet, imagine how we would feel about ourselves and how that would lead us to treat others? 

Even as I sit here typing this, this morning, I am running through today’s appointments in my mind and contemplating what to wear…oh, the challenge of being human!  One thing I will not forget to put on?  My basic, all-purpose garment, Love.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for being with me today.  Thank you for singing over me and covering me. Please help me to remember that when I cover myself in love, the rest of my attire doesn’t matter.  I pray that when others see LOVE on me, they will see You.

In Your Name,
Amen