Jesus in Disguise

All my clothes are dirty.  When you only have a pair of jeans, three shirts, a skirt, and a pair of shoes, there’s a high probability everything will end up dirty before I get around to doing my laundry.  As I have falsely lamented in the past,  I literally have nothing to wear.  I am stranded in my room, in a towel, at the mercy of the washing machine.  This is a perfect time to reflect on my journey thus far. 

Before I started, I was sure this was going to be absolute torture.  Wearing only 7 articles of clothing seemed like it was going to be a huge sacrifice, and I would end up daydreaming at length about what I would wear whenever Lent is over.  That hasn’t been the case at all.  My clothing fast has given me more a sense of freedom than sacrifice.  I feel free from the need to impress people.  I feel free from the decision of “what to wear”. I feel free from discontentment.  What I didn’t expect is how God would use this fast to make me painfully aware of my own sin.  I have seen that I am prideful, selfish, impatient, and most recently self-righteous.  

I purged my closet this week.  I went through my 253 items of clothing (yeah I counted), and chose a portion to give away.  (Side note: Can we talk about the fact that I had 43 t-shirts? How does that even happen!?) I packed all my items up and took them with me to the Catholic Charities Clothing Closet, where I volunteered to serve this week.  The Clothing Closet offers a place where people can come to get clothing items they need.  They usually provide an outfit (pants, shirt, socks, underwear), toiletries, and any other miscellaneous items a person may need at the time (jacket, shoes, belt, etc).  I started my day by helping to fill a few clothing orders.  The men I helped were so kind and grateful.  What I was doing felt important.  I kept thinking about Matthew 25. 

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

I was clothing Jesus by serving these men. 

As it slowed down a bit, I switched to sorting clothes that had been brought in as donations.  One of the other volunteers told me they have to be a little picky with what they choose to keep because they want to find things to best meet the needs of their clients.  So I started sorting…..and this is when my self-righteousness flared up.  I was appalled at some of the things people had donated.  There was clothing with holes, stains, and covered in dust and animal fur. There were also items donated that would have no use to most people, like vests with cats on them. I even found a pair of used underwear in one of the bags.  I was frustrated. Didn’t these people consider the people who would be receiving these clothes? Didn’t they think at all about what needs they would have?  Didn’t they realize they were donating clothes to people, not an organization? Then, I had to sort the clothes I had brought….

And I realized, I hadn’t considered the people who would be receiving these clothes.  I hadn’t thought about their needs. I had donated these clothes to Catholic Charities, not to the men and women who would be receiving them. I had just gone through my closet in an effort to get rid of excess.  I wanted to purge the things I no longer use or need. I had gotten rid of things, purely to get rid of them. In about 3 seconds my fat, self-righteous bubble popped. 

I don’t think it’s wrong to give away things we don’t need or can’t fit into anymore.  I think it’s a great use of resources to reuse unwanted clothes for a good purpose.  But when we forget to consider the people whom we are donating to, we lose sight of the bigger picture.  People are important.  I think one of the most important lessons Jesus taught us is to notice people.  He noticed Zacchaeus up in the tree.  He noticed the woman who touched the hem of His garment.  He noticed thieves and prostitutes, tax collectors and Pharisees.  He saw everyone, because to Him, everyone is important.  

It was easier for me to see the people I was helping when they were right in front of me. I should have been praying for the people who would receive the clothes I was donating.  I should have been thinking about their needs as I was putting clothes in the bag.  I should have been considering I was clothing Jesus with the clothes I was pulling out of my closet.  

“Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” Blessed Mother Teresa

 

7 Lessons and a Date

I’m going on a date with my husband tonight. Can you guess what I’m going to wear? Yep, that’s right.  I’m wearing the same exact thing I wore yesterday, and the day before. (Don’t worry. I’ve washed them…I think.)

So as I get ready for a special night out, wearing very unspecial clothes, I’ve been ruminating on all the things I’ve learned thus far from my little experiment.  So for your reading pleasure, I’ve assembled a list of 7 things I’ve learned from wearing only 7 articles of clothing.

1.  Clothes are clothes. 

Seems pretty simple, huh? Clothes have a purpose.  They cover our bodies.  They keep us warm.  We need clothes, but ultimately clothes are just clothes and stuff is just stuff.  People are what’s important.

2. Most people do not care what you are wearing.

I was a little nervous about having to go to church wearing my 7 items.  I was mentally preparing what I would say if someone confronted me about my inappropriate church clothing.  I’ve gone to church twice now, wearing jeans and Converse tennis shoes, and guess what? No one asked me to leave or glared at me across the Narthex. Okay, maybe they glared, but that was probably because my middle child kept pushing the automatic door button. Not because of my clothes.

3. Less clothes=less laundry 

This has been one of the biggest blessings of my Lenten clothes fast.  I still have piles of clothes from all the boys in my house, but my laundry has significantly decreased.

4. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice.

I like to dress nice.  It makes me feel confident and good about myself.  I don’t think it’s wrong to have clothes that you love to wear, but I think it all goes back to Lesson #1- clothes are just clothes.

5. Eliminating the excess in our lives, helps us to be more grateful.

This is something I knew in theory, but God has been teaching me a lot more in practice. When we have less, we appreciate the things we have.  I only have one jacket to wear right now, and it has been cold here this week.  I am immensely grateful to have a jacket to keep me warm.

6. I don’t think God wants us to feel guilty. 

This is something I’ve really struggled with in my life.  I’ll probably have another blog in the future going into more detail, but here we go.  I truly don’t believe God wants us to spend our whole lives feeling guilty for our money and possessions.  I have really beaten myself up in the past because I have so much, and there are others who have nothing.  I’ve felt guilty about my life, but this is the life that God has placed me into.  He’s asking us to be generous with our time, talent, and treasure.  He’s asking us to be sensitive to those in need. He’s asking us to be good stewards of the possessions He has entrusted to us.  I think He wants us to feel grateful, not guilty.

7.  When you listen, God speaks. 

This has been the most overwhelming lesson so far.  It’s amazing what happens when you really commit to listening to God. My clothing options for Lent have been a daily reminder of what my Lenten journey is supposed to be.  It is a time of drawing closer to God and listening for His voice.  As I get dressed in the same clothes I wore the day before, I am reminded that this is a journey toward holiness.  I want God to weed out the things in my life that are keeping me from fully experiencing and knowing His grace.

Clothed in Splendor

I love flowers.  I’m horrible at growing them and keeping them alive, but I love them.  With their emergence, they bring tidings of new life and warmer days.  They are beautiful without trying to be beautiful.  They don’t worry about how nice they look, or if they have enough petals of the right color for the season. They just are what God created them to be. I have a lot to learn from flowers.

Matthew 6:28-29 states, “Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.  But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.”

So in an effort to learn from the flowers, I am giving up clothes for Lent. ::gasp:: Before you all lose your minds, I will not be running around naked for forty days.  Inspired by Jen Hatmaker’s book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, I have chosen seven items of clothing that I will be wearing for the next forty days.  As I picked out my seven items, I was overwhelmed with how much stuff I have.  I have a lot of stuff, ya’ll! I hate to hear people call themselves blessed because of their wealth and possessions.  It implies that people who have less, are somehow less blessed. I believe everyone is blessed in different ways.  The wealth is not the blessing.  The opportunities it opens for serving God are.

As a part of my Lenten journey, I will also be seeking out clothing related service projects and volunteer opportunities every week.  I have more clothes than I need, but worrying about clothing is a very real struggle for a lot of people.  Being made aware of excess in one’s own life should not be just a time to feel guilty and gluttonous, but a rallying cry to serve those whom Jesus calls us to serve.

So here goes nothing! I’m excited about the journey ahead.  Spoiler alert! If you see me in the next forty days, this is what I’ll be wearing.