What Are You Wearing?

Years ago, I had a friend who gave birth to a baby girl prematurely. Somehow the pregnancy didn’t go as planned and the mother ended up in the ICU with blood clots in her lungs. It was a very serious and scary situation and I was fearful she would not be with us much longer. I went to bed that night asking God ”WHY??”

Why must we go through life with such difficult trials and circumstances at times? I was pretty sure I knew the answer but I questioned God anyway. The Lord gave me a dream that night.

I dreamed my friend was a paper doll. She had pages and pages with many outfits that were bright and colorful and had all kinds of accessories-flowers, hats, shoes, jewelry and so on. This paper doll smiled and she was fun and cheery to look at. She was covered from head to toe. Everything was in perfect place. She stood on her stand and just stood there and smiled contentedly. Then I saw a large hand come down and begin erasing all of the accessories, the clothing and the colors one by one. The hand erased until nothing was left but the outline of her body and a plain, simple white dress. I was yelling “STOP!” but the hand continued vigorously erasing. With every outfit that was erased and every color, her smile became less and less until she showed no emotion. A voice said “look what happens to the person who has no struggles or challenges. They are dull, simple, plain and unchanging. They are shallow and uninteresting. There is no life and joy in them. But if they overcome a trial, they get a cheery color or a pair of shoes or a ribbon in their hair.” It’s not about the clothing that we put on our body, but what we wear should reflect our relationship with God and what we put on spiritually. What we wear spiritually is a metaphor for the trials we go through and how they add to our “outfit.” By overcoming, we can all become more interesting, resilient and stronger for the “wear and tear.” Every trial we conquer adds to our character making us who we are. When we allow God to work in our lives to change us on the inside and the outside for the better, we’ll naturally be able to fit into our physical and spiritual clothing or covering. Adversity brings life and strength to us. Our unique clothing covers us physically and spiritually. Every joyous occasion we celebrate, brings character to us also. Beautiful, intricately designed people don’t just happen. They achieve their beauty by how they transform in their sufferings and joys. My friend was acquiring a new level of wisdom and beauty through her trials and so can we.

What are you wearing today? Did you choose something to cover yourself physically but not spiritually? Is your outfit totally inadequate or adequate? Or, did you let God choose your outfit or covering that He would choose for you to wear? Let’s wear our clothing well. Proverbs 31:22b suggests we wear quality clothing in beautiful colors. ‘Her clothing is fine linen and purple.”

What is going on in your life right now that you would love to erase? What outfit would you like to take off or erase? If you could erase it, you would also erase the wisdom of what you are wearing now and the beauty that came from wearing it so well. Remember the life lesson and wisdom you have gained, not the disappointment and the pain. Put on your new outfit made of fine, purple linen and put on your new self showing your likeness to God and wear it well!