This past week one of my best friend’s gave me a big bag of clothes. My sisters and friends are queens- I can’t remember the last time I went clothes shopping- my awesome ladies keep me looking sharp!
My daughters Kate (8) and Jacinta (3) LOVE when I get new clothes from people and are my official style critics. They give me a thumbs up and yell “KEEP!” if they think it’s cute and fits me well, or frown at me with their thumbs pointed down to clearly indicate that it doesn’t look good on me, and we put it in the give-away bag to pass off onto the next lucky lady.
I hit the jackpot this week as sweater after sweater and cardigan after cardigan were greeted with enthusiastic cheers. And man did I feel like a million bucks when I slipped into an adorable black dress that fit me like a glove! I am like a kid in a candy store as I carefully lay out my outfit each night for the next day this week! So many cute new outfits to choose from! I have felt so confident donning my new clothes.
Isn’t it incredible what great clothes can do to our attitudes? I’m trying to figure out if it is the clothes that make me happy, or the thoughtfulness of my friend that makes my smile a little wider this week.
One of the corporal works of mercy is to clothe the naked. Now Jesus was a literal person, so He wasn’t messing around when He instructed us to do so. But when my friend went out of her way to give me her hand-me-downs, she did more than just hook me up with cute swag.
She clothed me in love and made me feel wanted.
She clothed me in dignity (because it gave me permission to throw away some over-loved ratty sweaters 😉) and made me feel confident.
She clothed me in joy and made me feel so happy.
Like I said earlier, Jesus was literal, but I still like to think of His words like an onion that can get peeled back to reveal more meaning. This got me thinking. What are some ways that I myself can clothe someone in love? Hmm. Maybe it is looking deep into someone’s eyes and really listening to them as they pour out their heart. That would make me feel wanted and loved!
Maybe I could clothe someone in dignity by complimenting them, and really, genuinely meaning it, so that they can feel the dignity of confidence.
And maybe I can clothe someone with joy by tapping into whatever their love language is and treating them to that special something that really makes them happy.
I wholeheartedly believe that we should give to coat drives, keep our closets in check so as not to live in excess while others have nothing, and give to those in need due to the unexpected- pregnancy, job loss, a fire, etc. I think we need to be open to listening to whatever it is that the Holy Spirit whispers in our ear to clothe the literally naked around us. But, I also believe that there is a crisis of poverty of women knowing that they have dignity as a child of God and knowing that they are loved more than they can possibly imagine. Let’s strive to clothe those around us, in our words and actions, with dignity and love, which is a blessing that we can give over and over every single day.
Until next time my dear friends- your sister in Christ,
Leah
Comments