Shop till you drop, or…maybe not.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Proverbs 31:25
I’m pretty sure my mom invented the phrase “shop til’ you drop”. The credentials behind her name proved it. R.R.D. Radical Retail Designer. She was a top saleswoman at one of the oldest and finest department stores in Kansas City and shopping, especially for other people, was something she lived for. As a little girl, I hated shopping. “Can we gooooo now?” was my mantra.
Every year, before school started, it was the same thing. I could never make up my mind about which outfits to purchase, and I didn’t like trying on clothes. The dressing rooms were too small, the lighting was too weird, and the options were too many. This would always result in a long and exhausting day at the mall for my mom.
Appealing to the performer in me, she quickly came up with a fun idea that made it easier for me to decide, and wouldn’t require hours upon hours at the mall. She knew I liked to dress up, so she would buy several items and bring them home for me to try on and do a “fashion show” for her and my dad. My mom was a top saleswoman at one of the oldest and finest department stores, so she knew the styles! I loved putting on all the outfits and coming down the “runway” (staircase) to display them. My parents would “ooh!” and “ahh!” or shake their heads no and by the time we were done, I knew which ones looked good and which ones would get eliminated.
I’m still indecisive about things like clothing purchases today. I’m always thinking about how long something will last and whether I’ll still like the style down the road, if it’s a good value for the money, and if it’s a good color for my skin tone. But, I do still like to dress up as much as I did when I was a teenager. There’s something about putting a great outfit together that builds confidence, and makes you feel like you can take on the world!
However, the best outfit and nicest clothing I could wear is sorely lacking if I don’t put on the character of Yeshua first. Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Some of those qualities don’t automatically come easily for me, and sometimes I have to spend time changing my “outfits” or attitudes before I get the thumbs up from my heavenly father. The time I spend talking with him and receiving his guidance is an invaluable part of the “clothing” I aim to put on every day because without it, simply put, I feel quite naked.
When I do come to him, and spend time in his presence, I feel completely made-over from head to toe, and I’m reminded of how his perfect love wraps me in a robe of righteousness. And then, as Isaiah 61:10 says, I can rejoice greatly in the Lord, and my soul exults in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvatio
That is the dressing room I want to return to over and over! I want to be clothed in his righteousness because I know my righteousness isn’t enough. I want to have his spirit on me so I can be anointed to do all he has called me to do, because I know what kind of God I serve. He’s a king who comforts those who mourn and crowns the desolate with beauty instead of ashes, gives us the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. That is serious business I want to be about wherever I go, and if I want to have an impact on the world around me, I have to be serious about the most essential part of my wardrobe every day. Then, I can come out of the dressing room confident and clothed in strength and dignity, even laughing at the days to come!
