After a few years of basic dressing I have recently started adding accessories and thinking more about how I put clothes together. Looking at clothing styles with a focus on what will complement my skin tone or camoflauge a fluffy spot. Several years ago when I was working in a professional business office that was an everyday thing. But then my jobs changed and I spent a few years in jeans and polos at a big box retailer. I kind of enjoyed the dressing down aspect. But it also made me more lax in my appearance.
My feminine desire to dress to look good was revived when I read Shari Braendel's book, "Good Girls don't have to Dress Bad". (I highly recommend it, by the way.) So this week when a lingering case of tennis elbow required that I wear an arm brace I was all about how to hide it. Wouldn't work under long sleeves...they were too tight to fit over it. I found myself thinking "Oh, this sure spoils that put together look." Whine, whine.
I wondered if I was more concerned about hiding the affliction or was it a matter of being too prideful about my appearance. Hmmm.
Which made me think about how I can be even more concerned about hiding a spiritual 'affliction', putting on my "Miss Happy Christian" face because I don't want others to know the truth. I fear their rejection or negative opinion. I fear most of us Christians of the female persuasion do that.
My tennis elbow will slowly heal and the brace will be put away. Jesus heals my spiritual afflictions too, but I must remember that He is the brace that I must never put away. Just as important is the truth that I need to be more transparent about my faith journey. When we share what we see as weaknesses and allow others to see how God is healing us, helping us, and making us stronger we are part of His work in them as well. For it is in journeying together that we find strength to keep running the race.
Hugs,
Molly
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