On my way out the door to a weekend event, I grabbed a pair of navy blue dress shoes out of my closet and threw them in a tote bag. Later, as I got dressed for the evening, I delayed putting on these navy blue dress shoes, simply because they hurt my feet. I just grabbed the tote bag and wore my comfy shoes instead. Just before I was introduced to speak, I slipped into my navy blue dress shoes.
As I walked up to the stage, I realized I had made a serious mistake. I suddenly had a definitive limp. I had one high-heeled navy blue pump on my left foot and one low-heeled navy blue pump on my right foot—same brand, different heel height. I was laughing out loud, stumbling all the way up to the podium. Playing up to the audience—who was already laughing—I simply said as my introduction, “Well, you see these shoes? This is the new craze! And the best part is that I have a pair exactly like this at home!”
Remember the peasant dress look of the 70s? Once when speaking at an event, I wore a long, sheer white skirt. I forgot to wear a slip because I didn’t think I needed one. Right. As I scanned the audience, I’ll never forget glancing at the horror on my mother’s face. The intense lighting on the stage was behind me rather than in front, and she was witnessing the “see-through” experience of a lifetime! My mother’s reaction was priceless. She threw her hand over her mouth, gesturing to me with her other hand, mumbling to herself, “Oh my goodness, Sue! You look like you’re walking through an X-ray machine!”
Travel light, but travel “right”!
1. Long slips and skirts might not be in fashion and are probably hard to come by these days, but when you think that what you’re wearing might be a bit too sheer or revealing, you’re probably right.
2. I suggest doing a shoe inventory at least once a year. I usually do it at the end of summer, to kind of get a grip on what I have to wear for the fall season. It also gives me a good excuse to go shopping!
3. Storing and labeling your shoes in shoeboxes is really a great idea. If I had done this, I wouldn’t have packed the wrong pair!
4. Invest in quality shoes—ones that will last and remain fashionable. I suggest leather for most of your shoes because leather breathes and stretches, as well as molding nicely to your feet for a comfortable fit.
5. And the heel thing? Well, that’s up to you. But we all know the pointed toe and two-inch minimum heel makes us look more youthful—and slim.
For various reasons and at several points in Scripture, God has provided clothing for His people, covering their nakedness with both the spiritual and physical exposure it implies. Adam and Eve, being “clothed”, for instance, can also be a metaphor of God’s salvation that extends to all His children throughout the Bible. Let us resolve to wake up every day, put on the righteousness of God, and take off our own self-righteousness, with which no one can see God (John 3:3). Trust me, no one saw God that moment when I walked across the stage! It became the great distraction, slip or no slip or hobbling on misguided blue pumps! Putting on the righteousness of God is better than a pair of flashy shoes or flimsy fabric any day! It will change the world!
(Laugh Lines is an e-newsletter from the National Women's Department of the Assemblies of God. Subscribe here!)
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