Dress to Express

I like clothes (shocking revelation, I know). My siblings have always teased me because I remember events by what I was wearing. One of the great sadnesses of my life was outgrowing my favorite dress ever (it was shiny pink, with a full ruffly skirt that had bells sewn into it which jingled when I walked—I don’t know why they don’t make dresses like that for those of us past fourth birthdays).

One of my great mantras of dress has always been, “Wear exactly what you feel like,” because I’m limited in my forms of artistic expression, but I still feel like I’m accomplishing some when I put together an outfit. And yet I don’t know how many times I’ve been put off of wearing something for fear others might notice, might deride my decision. So I end up wearing something safe.

But lately I’ve been trying to focus more of my life on glorifying God—that is, trying to consciously remember that God is God, and I am not. As I care more about what people think about God (a natural result of remembering that He is God), I find that I care less about what people think about me.

I notice that all the flowers are praising God with different colors. The trees and sky and river are rejoicing together by being trees and sky and river, and I want to be in on it. I wear my big bright orange rose on my hot pink polo shirt as my expression of thanks and praise and joy in God (have you noticed the colors in the biblical accounts of His glory? I’m so glad He loves color, and that I know even from science that there are colors I haven't seen yet).

And I find that, like so much of the Christian life, it is a paradox. The more I submit myself to God, the less I am concerned with my Self and what will make me happy and what others will think of me, and the more of myself I become and am able to express (“to press out,” the exact opposite of impressing). The more I become what God made me to be.

And I don’t really mind if others think I look silly—after all, the God who made me is the same one who made the platypus.

“Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Romans 13:14