A few days
ago, a friend sent me a video of her small daughter folding laundry. The little
one’s enthusiasm and skill were charming, but what struck me was her “work
clothes.” She was wearing a blue tutu – to do laundry! The idea really set me
back. Suppose we did our work in our dance clothes?
Growing up
poor and on a farm, we had to be careful with our “good clothes.” They were
only for church and weddings. And we couldn’t wear our school clothes to do
farm work. All of us, even the firstborn (me), had to wear hand-me-downs, even
for “good clothes.” To this day, I struggle with the idea of wearing new or
decent clothes at home. Shouldn’t I be saving them for a special occasion? And
now, in this pandemic, there are no special occasions, but it still bothers me
to wear my nice things without a reason! I “have to” wear grubbies at home.
That’s their proper place.
The little
girl’s good example reminded me that we could wear what makes us happy, even on
ordinary days. I could wear my tutu when I cook and my mermaid outfit to do
laundry. And when I write, I’ll wear my Anne of Green Gables jacket and long
skirt (I LOVE those!). I don’t actually have any of those, but I could imagine.
I’ll do dishes in my purple sequined medieval dress with tall pointy hat, which
I do have. But I would wear it only in my imagination, because I wouldn’t want
to get dishwater on it. (Oh, boy, here we go again.)
God’s dress
code has nothing to do with whether we wear rags or sequins. He’s not impressed
with our fine clothing nor disgusted with our worn-out things. In fact, He
tells us not to be concerned with what we wear. He offers us a better wardrobe than we can imagine.
In
Isaiah 61, the Savior claims the Spirit of the Lord gives Him the power to
bestow relief and gifts to the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives and the
mourners. He gives this promise, “To those who mourn in Zion, to give them a
beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the
garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.” Is 61:3
The response from the blessed one is
gratitude.
“I
will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in
my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me
with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest
with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Is
61:10
He
says our garments of salvation and righteousness are represented by the
beautiful clothing of a bride and groom. The clothing He gives us is perfect
and eternal, not in the sense of “future" eternal, but in the here and now
and forever.
Do
we think about this clothing God has provided? If pretending to wear a tutu or
a medieval dress lifts our spirits and makes us smile, how much more would the
recognition of the reality of God’s perfect, gorgeous dress for us change our mindset
in this present daily life? We are daughters and sons of the king, and he has
provided royal dress for us. Could anything be better than salvation and
righteousness, to replace our own “righteousnesses (which) are as filthy rags?”
Is. 64:6.
If we lose awareness
of our royal clothing, we might carelessly slip back into our old rags that cause us discouragement, weakness, discontent, and sorrow. His provision is not
our “pretend” clothing; in fact, it is a tragic pretense for us to think we are
still in our former filthy rags, unworthy, unlovable or useless.
We are not
idle princesses, strutting in our finery. We have work to do. As Jesus left His
disciples on earth, He gave them “the promise of My Father” and told them to
wait until they were “clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49. Our work
clothes are our dance clothes -- salvation, righteousness, praise and power –
the finest and most beautiful pattern, fabric, and jewels available!
--Lynda Shenefield
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