Week 46 --- Colossians 3:12-14

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.


I'm spending quite a bit of time with clothes these days.

So......Illustrations of wardrobes and garments ring so true to me. I get it. Isn't it interesting that the God of the universe can speak in ways that our simple minds can understand??


I have this dress that I bought a few years ago. It was way too expensive and way to extravagant, but when I put that thing on I felt like a million bucks. So I bought it. I now am constantly on the look out for outtings or events that would necessitate such a fancy thing, and I rarely come up with anything, but boy when I do, look out.


I wore the dress on my 25th birthday I think. Maybe 26? No I think it was 25. Anyway, I put it on and stood in front of the mirror and it occurred to me that this just might be the best I'll ever look. Which I know sounds morbid, but I felt great about my figure, I loved the dress, I was tan and my hair was even cooperating. I understand that as you get older it's harder to stay in shape the way you want, which I'm figuring out all too quickly, so I just had this content acceptance of enjoying how I looked on that day.

I can't believe this is the best picture I have of the dress that night?! You can't even see my beautiful dress. You can see the cutie snow-boarder I was in love with at the time ... :)


Love is the garment that fits. It's all-purpose and brings out our best. It's that thing that you wear that you feel good in. Now, I am also aware that sometimes love does not feel great or fit well at all, but this scripture tells us to never be without it. I think love is the thing that when you put it on you know it's for something special. There's value and worth in wearing love.


I work in a job where I watch women stand in front of a mirror and just beg for someone to tell them they look good. Fishing for compliments for someone to notice them. Staring at themselves just trying to tolerate whats looking back at them. It's hard to see some days. God love em, sometimes they bring a husband or boyfriend along to just stand there and be miserable and I have to wonder if these men are being punished for something? I know nothing about relationship dynamics, but I know I'm not going to ask a poor guy if these jeans look like they'll stretch and if he could please go find another pair for me in a 4 tall in a huge store of 800 jeans that all look the same to him. LOL. It's people watching at its best.


What we wear is unfortunately such a big big deal to us. Which is why it's so interesting to me that God uses the illustration of putting on love like a garment.


I had a difficult conversation with a friend the other day. We hadn't spoken in awhile and I had some things I just needed to let go. I walked away from the restaurant and sat in my car and thought to myself --- man, forgiveness feels good. I know forgiveness is hard, and it feels like giving in sometimes, and you wonder if people will think less of you because this person wronged you and maybe you're just caving. But God forgave me of so so much. And I think he asks us to extend that to others. Even when it doesn't make sense.


I look hott in my forgiveness outfit. (oh yes, that was hott with two t's) It fits. :)


With that same train of thought, if forgiveness is something that feels good on my shoulders, and flatters everything, then bitterness is like pants that are way too tight. They cut you in half and make you just want to die anytime you sit down. That's what it feels like. Its probably making you more miserable than anyone else.

I'm not really sure what dressing in compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, and discipline looks like, but I'm interested in figuring it out. I really like this scripture. I like that it starts out talking about your new life. I like that with Jesus, everyday is our new life. That means a daily opportunity to wake up and put an outfit together that says something about us. Sometimes I reason in my mind that I cannot go to work today because I have nothing to wear. Please please do not miss out on this life God has brought you to because you think you have none of the above listed things to wear. This verse tells us that God picked out this wardrobe for us. He'll help us get there. Phew. :)