Fashion??? Me???
I’ve heard this word lately, and I’ve realized that I was a little bit repulsed by it, which meant a little soul-searching was in order.
I used to dream of designing clothes. True story. {This by no means indicates that I’ve ever dressed super well or been in the cool crowd…seriously.}
My sewing machine and I became amigos in 5th grade when I began taking lessons from tailor. In high school I was coming up with my own designs and patterns, but almost always too shy to wear them. When I did wear them it was always the wrong dress at the WRONG time. (ie. hot pink dress that fit a little too well at a friends low-key and conservative wedding. {still cringing}) But then Parsons didn’t exactly have a volleyball scholarships, did they? I never applied. I went with the practical. In the end, I opted for business school with frequent trips for killer finds at Goodwill.
All that to say – I’ve always loved arranging pretty things, accessories and fashion.
But without my knowing it something happened. Something soured.
Where on this journey did I leave that behind? Perhaps when life got heavy? Maybe when I started feeling too weather-worn? Was it frivolous? Was it all just a tribute to a life gone-by? Weren’t there more serious things?
Jaded somewhere inside, I tossed it out.
But not all things we throw out go away. Sometimes they blow back at you.
Now, I to peek out of the trenches. I grab for beauty again. {I’m hardly claiming fashionista, mind you.} I just mean little touches, accessories, makeup, little things.
And they aren’t just pretty things any more. A solider must wonder – which is real: The reality of the battles they’ve endured? The reality of the life that follows? The intangible life before? At first I imagine all is surreal, but time does help us find out footing.
The collision of the before, the after, and the present combine some days. I wipe the 3-year-old’s smear of humus off the new bracelet. I wear cute earrings while I wrestle a diaper on my 8-year-old.
When I throw on a necklace, and I know that I am no more or less beautiful than I was before – but I have uttered to myself in wearing them – I am of value. I am loved. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, as are the hands that made my jewelry.
The declaration is to self. The message is for all. Fashion. Beauty. Their value comes in the visage…not to elevate a few above the rest, not to bring focus to the outside, not to chase the mob of ever-changing trends, but that the outside may reflect a beauty within – a beauty in each, unique, handmade, no two the same.
May you feel how beautiful you have been made to be, and may you delight in the infinite beauty of your maker! BE THE BLING! #bethebling
photo credit national geographicI praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. – Psalm 139:14
a Rearranged Life 