Picking Out Clothes

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.

Proverbs 31:25 NLT

Since my surgery, I've been living in borrowed button down shirts that are big enough to not restrict/bind, and long enough to cover up the little belt that holds my drains, and soft enough to lounge around in. That translates to borrowing Dad and James's shirts, which have been super comfy, but not the cutest.

Monday, I got one drain out, so I am a bit less bulky, and so Tuesday, I started borrowing some button downs from my mom. I can't tell you how much better I feel being able to wear something feminine and cute, and I didn't even realize I was feeling frumpy.

I went to Faith Chicks Bible Study on Tuesday, and part of the verse above popped into my head, so I wrote it down - "She is clothed with strength and dignity." It was pretty irrelevant to what was being taught, but I know that God's word is never irrelevant to life, especially when it just pops into your head like that. I don't know about you, but I feel that when that happens, it's not just some random thought, but God speaking his word to me and reminding me of his promises.

Anyway, I got distracted there.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity." The verse doesn't say she's a strong and dignified woman. It says she's clothed with those features. That means that she woke up that morning, and she decided that the outfit she wore that day was going to include strength and dignity.

I read once that The Proverbs 31 Woman is not meant to be an impossible standard that we should hold ourselves to and strive to attain each and every attribute described there. Rather, it is meant to be an inspiration to me, as a woman, to draw from each feature as I have need. That means in some seasons, I'll be the one helping the poor and needy, sometimes I will focus on caring for my household more, and then there will be times that I am more industrious outside my home.

In the season I am in right now, I choose to get up and get dressed and put on strength to get through each day, each side effect, each set back. I choose to walk this walk with dignity, with my head held high.

*I* am not strong enough to fight this battle.

*I* am not graceful and dignified when faced with, well, all of THIS.

But, *I* am not walking this walk alone. God is with me every step of the way. And one of the tangible ways I feel him carrying me, is through you - your love, support, help, kindness. And because I'm not alone, I can make the choice each day to be clothed in strength and dignity. And hopefully a cute shirt.