I feel so blessed to be the Child of a God who watches how I dress and responds accordingly…
When my children were young I found quite a lot of enjoyment in putting their clothes together to arrange cute little outfits for them to wear.
I am from a generation of children who grew up wearing different clothes on a Sunday or Feast Days or special holidays. We called these our “Sunday clothes” and they were our more special clothes that we wore once a week as a way of marking a special occasion. This was quite important in our family. Our dad did not like us wearing our jeans to Church and when we went out visiting grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles our mother made sure we were always well dressed.
I tended to repeat this behaviour – not only with my children – but with myself as an adult. I will generally make sure that I am earing something a little more special on a Sunday to mark this special day, and I usually ask my children to do the same.
When they were younger, it was pretty easy to arrange this. All I needed to do was to hand them their clothes and help them on with the clothes and the children were easily arranged into cute little outfits that I had chosen. But now things are different. I have teenagers and pre-teenagers in the house and that means more independence and whole lot more of ideas about what will look nice on them.
My eldest son is by far the most conservative dresser in the family. If that child could wear, black and white non-stop for the rest of his life, he would feel very comfortable and happy with his choices and would easily think that he looked like a million dollars – so to speak. My second son is complete the opposite. He loves colour. Coloured socks and fluoro-coloured shoes are his go to choices. Mango shirts and banana shorts make that child happy. And my daughter likes frills and pretty pinks and girlie things. Fashion is her life at this age, and she is always trying to work out her outfits in a way that she likes.
And I have been thinking about these clothes today because they remind me to God…
You see, I am like each one of my children in their own ways. Just as my eldest son does not like to try wearing anything different, so too do I try to stay within what feels comfortable in my spiritual life. And that can be problematic – because God knows that I need to do more and He guides me gently to it, much like I gently guide my eldest son to compromise about his clothing and wear other muted (equally boring colours) that feel terribly flamboyant to him. And just as I must at times advise my second son to change his outfit so that he does not look entirely like a clown, so too does God sometimes hold me back from things that I think are wonderful and that He knows are ridiculous. And just as my daughter spends a bit too much effort thinking about her various outfits, so too do I spend a bit too much effort thinking about the things of this world. And God – with infinite patience and gentleness, reminds me that I need to refocus my attentions…
And I have been thinking about that. Because I feel so blessed to be the Child of a God who watches how I dress and responds accordingly…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.