Sound of Surviving Blog

Over the weekend, my closet malfunctioned. The bar that holds my clothes on hangers just snapped right in half. Funnily enough, the verse I read the very next day was Colossians 3 verses 12 and 14, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” As I cleaned out my closet that day, getting rid of clothes I no longer wore or needed, I realized that maybe God is really the most amazing fashion designer, and his virtues are the most designer brand I could ever wear. They might not be name brands that the world recognizes, but maybe simple clothing, donned underneath compassion, kindness, gentleness, and patience, is the most authentic fashion style I could ever wear. I saw a quote the other day that talked about the analogy that we spill out into the world what we fill our cups with. If we fill our physical mug up with coffee, and someone knocks into us, we’re going to spill coffee out. Life has a way of coming at us and knocking us down again and again, every single day. Whatever is in your soul, or your “invisible cup”, will spill out into the world. Whether that’s anger, bitterness, and sadness, or frustration, fear, and anxiety, or joy, kindness, and empathy, the world will see what you pour out when life shakes and flusters you. But here is the trick: when life jostles us around, and we fall down (and this will happen to everyone), it’s just an opportunity to show them our God and how amazing he is, in what we are “wearing” or what spills out of our “cup”. We get to show them humility, love, patience, and the joy that comes from knowing Christ as our Savior. Because we know that when the world knocks us down, Jesus is standing right there, waiting for us, holding out his hand, to pull us back up. And we can show others that with this solid rock we stand on, nothing can ever keep us down for long. And if we live and walk like Christ, and follow his example, you never know, we might just start the next trend. So next time you can’t find something stylish to wear, or you don’t have the “Stanley Cup” that everyone else is drinking from, remember that true and authentic beauty and style come not from the outside, but from within.