Put Your New Clothes On-October’s WOW from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power
Colossians 3:12-13a
“Therefore
as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness,
humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another and
forgiving one another…”
Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…
Thanks for joining me today for a coffee break and for our monthly WOW! I can’t believe it’s already October which means it’s almost the end of the year! Grab your coffee and let’s go talk about something fun, clothes!
Have you ever stood in your closet unable to decide what to wear? And then when you finally choose something, you put it on only to take it off! And when that happens over and over again, don’t you resolve it’s time to go shopping for new clothes? Do you catch yourself choosing clothes to fit your mood? And doesn’t a new outfit just make you feel better? Ah, the difficulties of being a woman of fashion in this world!
When I think of clothes and shopping sprees, I have several memories that squeeze my heart with a huge smile and those memories always involved someone else. My first big shopping spree was when I first became a court reporter and I went to Nordstrom’s with my friend Valerie. We were both there to shop for work clothes, outfits suitable for the court room and/or the deposition room, clothes that suited our profession of professionals and helped give us a boost of confidence amongst all the attorneys we were working with. We were both single then!
Many of the things we bought during that shopping spree remained part of my wardrobe for more than twelve years, not because I didn’t like to shop, but because they remained in style. Hold that thought real tight in your heart.
But when I was officially retired from L.A. Superior Court, I actually gave the majority of those clothes away, thinking I wouldn’t need them again. Boy was that ever a mistake, but then again, it just gave me permission to get more when I returned to my reporting career part time; which meant I got to create more fun memories with some special girlfriends.
I remember shopping for my first Coach purse; I think I cherished the memory as much as the purse! (Sweet friend of mine, I know you have coffee with me every morning, so thank you for that memory!) Oops, I’m wandering off track here. Geez, talk about getting distracted. I need to get back to these clothes.
How many times have we declared we needed a new outfit for whatever reason? I have been guilty of this more than a few times and I have been known to say it’s expensive to be me. But the more I thirst for the things of God, and the older I get, the less I shop for the things this world has to offer. I’ve learned, though it has taken a long, long time, that the things of this world, like a lot of cute clothes, jewelry, purses and shoes for every outfit, can lure a girl completely off track and take her out to the isolated woods of never-ending wanting and trying to keep up with the fashions.
And please don’t think I am pointing the finger at you if you love to shop! God blesses each of us and speaks to each of us individually. He speaks in our language and always to the heart of the matter. He knows that there was a time where I was looking to the things of this world to fulfill a void, satisfy a deep-seeded restlessness, so He dealt with me in a very unique way, a way that definitely got my attention. He called me to shopping fasts! That’s right, and each one was a month long!
It was a season where He taught me many things and He brought to life many scriptures dealing with dying to the desires of self as He drew me closer to Him. I remember traveling during either the first or second fast and when you travel, don’t you shop?
Well, I did shop, but not for myself, rather for other special people in my life. You may be saying, “Well, isn’t that shopping?” Yes, but my issue wasn’t so much about shopping as it was trusting and faith-ing through tough times. I remember the fasting times as times of victory and sure, in the beginning it was tough, but it actually got easier the more I did it. And please know that it wasn’t easy because of anything I did necessarily, except for admitting my weaknesses. But I literally showed up, tried to shut up and partnered with Him every time I had the urge to go and buy something new for myself by asking Him to help me focus on what I did have, not what I didn’t have. He met me every time I invited Him into my craving and because He did, that helped build my faith enabling me to trust Him for all my needs and wants.
Oh, how He uses all things, including clothes, to teach us what He wants us to learn. Join me tomorrow for a spiritual clothes shopping spree!
Clothed in His love,
Evinda
No comments:
Post a Comment