Stained Garment

As I was getting prepared for an important trip, my mind wandered back to a time when I was at a church service where Deion Sanders (professional football player) was the speaker. He said when you look good you feel good. It was something I’d lived by for many years and his statement brought forth an amen from the depths of my soul. I know how to dress up many emotions, I’ve had years of experience in this area. It was a confidence booster for me and continues to be to this day.

On this trip, I was taking my baby girl and her baby along as a girdle. The purpose of a girdle is to support some of your flawed areas, it covers the parts you don’t want others to see. It accentuates the positive and camouflage the negative. These two girls are extensions of my accomplishments. My daughter can draw better than Picasso in my book. She’s making a name for herself in our community and I imagine her work becoming global! Her daughter’s gifts are shining early, her confidence exceeds that of people 10 times her age. When I look at them, I see possibilities and hope.

Knowing that I was about to be surrounded by many accomplished people (by academia standards) left me mentally ill-prepared to engage in conversations. While I am extremely happy for them, my insecurities were on the horizon. I brought these two vibrant personalities along to take the attention off me and directed to them.

While we were preparing for our early morning flight, I was ironing my grandkiss’ brand new top. It had a photo of two black girls on it and the photo represented two confident young girls; my daughter was in love with this shirt and was proud I’d bought it for her daughter. The day I purchased the shirt, I remember being amazed that this particular store sold such a lovely garment featuring young girls of color and in such a beautiful light. I wanted to purchase three for all my granddaughters. As I was ironing, I noticed my recently purchased iron was leaking brown water on it! I cleaned it immediately, however, it was wet, and the stain didn’t seem to be gone. We were pressed for time, so I chose another top for her to wear.

Long story about this trip right! Well my point is this: Why do we cover our flaws? Why are we concerned with whether others can see our flaws, the stains on the fabric of our lives? Do we need others to validate us? Everyone has their shortcomings, but it doesn’t change the fact that we have assignments to do and lives to live. As I hung the shirt up to dry, those girls on the shirt never stopped smiling or stopped being confident, despite the stain. They saw possibilities and abilities and they looked at each other with the sassy look that said to me, we are somebody! We matter! We can take on the world! There was a lesson in that stained shirt for me. Girl why are you tripping! I realize that my garment may be snagged and stained but I am confident that this garment was tailor made for me.

10 thoughts on “Stained Garment”

  1. Sydney, Australia

    God will showcase those who are willing to relinquish their plans and make them His. I enjoyed this post because I struggle with many things and sometimes it hinders me from moving forward. This blog exposed and encouraged me to keep the faith and to run my race, not others. Thank you for your thoughts. I really do look forward to your weekly post.

  2. Flaws are where the beauty shows! Our uniqueness can only show where we are different from others. He made you to be only — and BEAUTIFULLY—you!

  3. I am thankful to have met such a transparent person through this means. You make us all want to read more. You are helping me with each post. Please continue to help heal, uplift and inspire.

  4. Do you wonder if our dreams are too small and God takes our life experiences and show case them at the appropriate and appointed time? Just because the garment is stained or imperfect doesn’t mean that it has to be thrown away. I love this post! You helped me today. Thank you.

  5. I feel more secure after reading your blog today; thank you so much for sharing your own struggles and vulnerabilities to help strengthen others!!

  6. Excellent post! For me, personally, I realized my self-worth when I stopped doing things out of character for acknowledgement, for validation, for acceptance. It wasn’t so much about the look as it was the actions. But after all is said and done, the actions WERE the look because they defined how people saw me.

    Life became so much better when I realized that living life as who I truly was served to benefit myself better and in the end, everyone else.

    Thank you for sharing. You speak from the heart and experience and that my friend, is a profound “look”!

  7. This is encouraging and hard to grapple with. The principal is sound. The only ones with clean garments are babies. Every single one of us has stained or snagged clothes and we do our best to pass it off as being pristine. And yet, somehow, when God looks at his saints, he sees them as pristine because of the overcoat of Christ’s sacrifice. I’m praying God helps me to see what he sees from the outside and not what I see.

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