"C'mon, girlfriend, we're going to the mall."
"Whoo hoo!" I hung up the phone with a huge
smile. Any chance to hit stores and come home with bargains stirred
girlish excitement. Since I lost my eyesight, these trips gave me a
chance to get out, catch up, laugh and come home with crazy stories.
Anticipating a great time, my friend took me
by the arm and we strolled through crowded store aisles headed to the
petite department.
"I see a perfect outfit for you," she said,
"and I think it's on sale!" Our steps quickened.
Once in the dressing room, she handed me the
fitted top. "The colors are perfect. They'll look great on you."
I slipped my arms through. "Hmm… a little
tight." I tried to poke my head through, but got stuck midway. "I think
I need a bigger size," I muttered.
"No way. It's your size," she said. She tugged
first one side then the other.
The top wouldn't budge, on or off. My arms
pressed against my ears, and my words of panic muffled by the blouse
that smashed my face.
"No pain." She said as she yanked with all her
might. "No gain."
My head poked through, jack-in-the-box style
and while catching my breath, I stared in space.
My arms limp to the sides, and my mind
imagining this garment never to come off again.
Moments later, my friend gasped as she ran her
fingers to the side. "Oh, I can't believe it…"
"What?"
"It has a zipper."
A zipper? She's got to be kidding.
"Sorry. I just didn't see it."
Another crazy story.... But this one mirrored
a difficult dilemma in my own life. I battled, trying to decide whether
I fit into the world's pattern or fit into the mold tailored by God.
Initially, thinking it'd be a perfect match, I
carefully chose goals, dreams, and expectations in line with the world's
standards. But when adversity swept through, the struggle began. I
tugged, yanked, and pulled on various styles to find a way out of
difficult situations. I became worn out by trying to make my own
solutions fit my problems.
I even battled with the correct order of
priorities. In my role as a wife, mom, friend, or church member, I
desired to please everyone. Often anxiety visited reminding me of my
inability to please even myself.
But did I change? No. I stubbornly continued
to use my values, beliefs, and choices to overcome and find
satisfaction.
But when the effects of losing my sight
crushed my world, it became real, painfully real that my own ways to
solve my problems were not sufficient. My solutions were not a match for
a tragedy of this magnitude. Nothing I tried brought comfort,
reassurance, encouragement, or hope.
And empty of hope, I began shopping for a dose
of comfort--through fortune tellers, psychics, New Age healers, etc.
They successfully increased my frustration and decreased the balance of
my checking account.
My whole life was off balance. And when almost
ready to tumble in defeat, I found the zipper – the opening. It was the
entrance designed in my heart for Jesus to come in.
When He did, He provided freedom from the
world's deceptions.
Once I received Him into my life, I made Him
my Lord, my God, my all.
His faithfulness, compassion, and guidance
offered a perfect garment for my soul. The price tag read, "Free."
This incredible gift, complete with the jewels
of His trustworthy promises adorn my renewed life.
A new beginning,
leaving behind unnecessary struggles when facing difficulties. A
newfound reassurance knowing He created me and thus knows what will fit
my soul. He knows the size of my needs, the color of my pain, the fabric
of my fears, and the fashion of my insecurities.
Christ knows yours too. Trusting in the
pattern He custom-designed for you, surrender happens. fear, anxiety,
and doubt--no longer fit a new life in Christ.
All becomes new. Redirection begins. No more
desperation to be free from setbacks big or small. Christ is the one who
gives eyes to see a new world--one of renewed hope, confidence, and
peace.
And it's that profound peace that filters
through when God turns blindness or any other setback, to joy. And with
a new outlook, we can hold on to his healing Word as it dances in our
soul, "I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God;
for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with
a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland."
(Isaiah 61:10 NIV).
Let's Pray: Father, thank You for giving me
the spiritual garment I can wear as I live the life, abundant and rich,
You promised. In Jesus' name, amen.
God has the perfect garment for your soul.
Will you try it on?
Janet P. Eckles
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.