Years ago, a friend told me about a terrific store that sells designer clothes at a fraction of retail cost. Although the store’s location was a bit out of the way, she promised me it was worth the drive. Sure enough, it was. Intoxicated by so many affordable selections, I virtually staggered to the fitting room clutching an armload of clothes. However, once through the curtained doorway, I immediately sobered. The room had no stalls, partitions, or privacy, just one huge mirrored room with long wooden benches bordering the four walls and women of various shapes and sizes in various stages of undress.
Vivid images of my own “least comely parts” flashed before my eyes—stretch marks, surgical scars, skin, and undergarments with failing elasticity. I was faced with a dilemma. How badly do I want this? How much of myself do I dare expose? These are also questions pastors’ wives ask themselves regarding relationships. How much can I risk exposing?
From the beginning of time, when Eve chose fig leaves to cover herself, women have been hiding behind one thing or another: cosmetics and prosthetics, hair we dye and some we buy, collagen for fuller lips and liposuction for slimmer hips, silicone implants to enhance the bust, and for the less daring Wonder-bras are a must. On a daily basis we carefully clothe, conceal, and camouflage that which we do not want others to see. Yet on the inside pastors’ wives are crying out to be known, loved, and accepted, warts and all.
If you are anything like me, you have had the experience, hopefully not too many times, of letting down your hair, dropping your guard, taking off the mask, revealing the real you, and living to regret it. Perhaps you assumed you shared something in confidence, only to hear it around the church. Take courage, it happens to the best of us. But it is no reason to live a life of self-imposed exile or hide behind a mask.
God never meant for His children to rely solely upon Him to the exclusion of others. Six times within the creation story, God sees what He has made and declares it, “Good!” The first time something was not good was when that man was alone. “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18a). It is through others that God meets our need for fellowship, intimacy, accountability, and help.
At the urging of my friend, I went to that designer clothing outlet to add to my wardrobe. Baring myself was part of the process. God, who is the Master Designer, has a custom-fitted wardrobe for every believer. Stripped of our own coverings, He clothes us in robes of righteousness and crowns our heads with glory and honor. As we trust Him to supply our every need, we will find that He can be trusted to send safe people into our lives before whom we can be naked and unashamed.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I pray for healing for the pastor’s wife who has been wounded. Bind up the breaks in her heart and wipe the tears from her eyes. To the one who grieves in Zion, I pray for Your comforting presence and a safe person with whom she can be real. Amen
