the clothes on your back

So, recently my closet rod came crashing down with a great big BOOM! I guess I had too many pieces hanging on the rod and the weight of my clothes finally won out. So now, my bed is covered in wardrobe and I am faced with the task to finally go through years of skirts, sweaters and boots in an effort to remove what I no longer wear but have hung onto for entirely too long.

Now that everything is laid out, I have come to realize how many articles of clothing I own, how many pieces I actually wear, and how many I don't. It has caused me to be thankful for all that God has provided and has humbled me to think about how easily I had forgotten to notice what I have accumulated. When I think of how many occasions that have occurred in the past when I have selfishly announced in ungratefulness that I have absolutely NOTHING to wear.... it is truly embarrassing! Because if you could see what lays before me now, you would agree that I have SOOOO much more than I could ever need. I don't own one shirt... I own a shirt for every day of the year! Not one coat for cold weather months... but many! I can't even begin to imagine how many pairs of pants, scarves, shoes and bags I have callously taken for granted or forgotten.

Have you ever stopped and looked in your closet and counted how many pieces you have? It is incredible to think that there are people in this world who own only one outfit and, if they are fortunate enough, a pair of shoes. It really makes you stop to appreciate the clothes on your back... literally!

Anyway, my sweetie, Chuck, was kind enough to buy me a new, more stable closet rod so that we could re-hang my mini boutique and get our laundered life back to normal. So, I'm blocking off part of the upcoming long weekend to host a Vickized fashion show to decide upon the articles of clothing I truly love and want to keep. The other pieces (the ones that do not fit well, have become outdated, or have merely seen better days)... well, they will be given away or discarded. No longer will I just accept them as part of my make-up and allow them to hide the other pieces I truly love. No longer will they weigh down my life and smother out the pieces that I want to truly portray "me"... Yes, I will let the old and unflattering clothes go - and my load will be lightened.

I suspect this exercise is yet another part of the greater process of simplification taking place in my life as God has been reorganizing a lot within me and within my surroundings. I have come to accept it... to welcome it with open arms.  Why?  Because I have seen what I really look like without Him... and, trust me, it's not flattering.  Sure, it is not easy to watch your physical, emotional and spiritual life come crashing down allowing the Holy Spirit to lay out all the pieces of your heart for assessment... but in the end, it is worth it.  For with the Lord your load will be lighter; your burdens weeded out and removed by the Designer of all things! Yes, I want to lay aside the sin that no longer fits me and accept His new wardrobe!  I want to ensemble myself with God's magnificent glory so that each part of me is considered only in relation to His whole. I want to present myself clothed in Jesus when I look in the mirror.  This is the time to take the time necessary steps to seek out His style, and to put on His grace.  For His ways are apparent, absolute and good!  Thank you, Jesus!  I choose to be dressed in YOU - the One I truly love and want to keep for all eternity!

Lord, let me be an effective image bearer who reflects your beauty and wears your love openly so that my life is used to warm the hearts of everyone I meet. Let my life be simplified so that all that is seen in me is your richness, your grace, your perfect image!

Thank you for dressing me in your newness, my dear, sweet, beautiful Savior. Less of me... and more more more of YOU!

He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:30)

XOX!

~Victoria