I remember looking at the pale green dress hanging on the back of my bedroom door. It had a flouncy skirt that twirled out when I spun around with a tie-back sash and frilly trim around the sleeves and neck. As a little girl, I remember lying in my bed that Saturday night before Easter, dreaming about what it would feel like to wear that dress the next day. It was crisp and pretty and different than my other dresses. It held the promise of new.
Have you ever had those moments when you wished it could be that easy to turn into a new mom? Whisk a new dress over your head and voila! Instead of the mom who barely has time to pour a bowl of cereal, you become the mom who has the energy for Mickey Mouse pancakes complete with ears of batter and raisins for eyes. Instantly transformed into the mom with loads of patience and an abundance of smiles who doesn't lose it when the dog poops on the carpet and your two-year old runs his chocolate fingers across your bedspread?
As a wife and mom, I’ve had plenty of those moments. Moments when I’ve even gotten a little bossy with God: Lord, if you saw fit to give me this family, couldn't you have equipped me a little better? Maybe could have made me a little less short-tempered and better prepared to handle the messes that come along with each new day?
The truth is: He made me just as He wanted me, but through His Word, He draws me in to experience what a new-and-improved Sherry could be.
“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” Colossians 3:12-14 (The Message)
Now those are words of promise that my soul desperately needs. God knows my story. He knows I get frustrated and weary with my life. He knows I fall back into the same old habits that cause me to be discouraged and want to give up. He knows and He understands. Each and every morning, He invites me into a brand new me if I’ll only love him back and trust him completely with my life. He doesn't want to transform me into my picture of the perfect woman or mom, but into the woman and mom He designed me to be.
"And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it."
Colossians 3:14 (The Message)
Written by Sherry Surratt
