Wardrobe Makeover
Originally written: November 26, 2005
Edited: October 11, 2020
Just ahead of my shopping cart, down a narrow, tight-fitting aisle at Ross Department Store, an unsupervised little boy darted in and out of clothes racks, flashing ugly faces at my eleven-month-old and three-year-old daughters. He would disappear briefly, only to reappear a moment later amidst a flutter of junior-sized shirts and clanking hangers, snickering and making wild gestures. (At least that’s how my mind remembers it.) Holding onto the back of our cart, my oldest looked at me and giggled—her eyes acknowledging she understood the boy’s disobedience. My toddler, on the other hand, joined the commotion, hanging off the side of the front seat and grabbing at the dangly shirt tags left rustling from the boy’s presence. She squealed with delight, falling prey to the game. So much for finding any new shirts for my post-pregnancy wardrobe, I surmised. I’ll just look like a blimp until both girls are headed to college. (Of course, dramatic thinking took over here—par for the course.)
Flustered beyond words, I bit my tongue and refrained from saying anything more than a polite, “Why don’t you go stand by your mommy?”—though no mommy could be seen.
My insides screamed, “Do you not get it, Kid? I do not find your antics cute, and you are wearing me out! I have enough on my plate, right now. I don’t need to be dealing with you, too. Straighten up and get your act together—or, better yet, go bug someone else!” But, instead, I maintained my composure and carefully maneuvered around him.
How many times do you think God looks at us and feels the same way, wanting to say the same thing? “Ahh…c’mon, (Name), not that habit AGAIN. You can’t truly believe I find your lack of judgment amusing. I’m tired of your excuses. You’re wearing me out!” But God’s love for us far outweighs His exasperation.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7 (NKJV)
I am excited to know His grace extends to me; and, someday, I will not have to worry about my wardrobe any more. I have been promised a robe and crown, and I hear they come in all sizes!
