IN THE WAITING...THE (FINAL) ACCESSORIES

Ladies, I want to be very sensitive here because not every reader can boast a fairytale past. Some daughters have dreamed of glamour sessions with their mom where bobbles dangled from earlobes and frilly things hung from necklines. Giggles emerged from floppy hats and oversized heels as the little girl parades down an imaginary runway to the pattern of a drunkard’s path quilt. Adorned to the nines and lookin’ mighty fine, this daughter radiates beauty.

At first glance, she may appear undersized in her mother’s accessories, but imagine if you will, the grand purpose behind the imagery – she has much to become. To grow into the depth, the height, the measure of her true self turns that glamorous fairytale into reality. Her past does not adorn her with objects labeled "victim," "reject," "throwaway," "worthless." In the waiting, this becoming daughter of God grows from her past and chooses to accessorize herself in His truth.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14).
 

It took awhile to write this final installment, because I knew God wanted to “accessorize” us in priceless treasures, not worthless junk. But how do you say that? How do you convince someone to believe not necessarily in themselves, but in what God sees in and through them? Concepts like leading a horse to water or feeding a person a fish teaches only so much before it borders the line of being just another cliché. God didn’t create us as horses and we’re hungry and thirsty for more than water and fish, aren’t we?

Life “in the waiting” is all about wearing the right gear (designer label WisdomWear, but you know it as the “whole armor of God”). It’s about wearing the beauty of God’s truth in our countenance and allowing it to radiate in and through us much like that anticipated bride. And in the waiting, we have a counselor who teaches us how to live well, act right, love fully, pray continually, forgive quickly, give freely, and well, you get the picture.

I can see myself coming back to this theme down the road. Be encouraged. I know I am. Because in the waiting (and it bears repeating, though I know I ended my last posting with the same passage)…

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6)