Fashion

It was the Christmas season in 1968.  It was a time of awareness and coming of age.  I was thirteen, brimming with confidence, with absolutes filling my imagination, I was sure I knew and understood the fashion scene of the day.  As I look back now, I find myself bemused by my arrogant pride.  I knew nothing.  I had little if any sense of fashion's history and trends. As I look across time, other than the humbleness that life pushes and teaches with time little has changed.
I know I have a greater sense of the roll fashion plays in our lives.  What we wear does matter, especially in how we see our self.  The things in our closets, lying on the chairs in our rooms and on the ends of our beds tell a story.  Even our shoes chime in, revealing more about our lives than one is usually willing to admit.  From my perspective, the story one finds is more than the sum of the individual parts.  There is the intent of the one putting on the clothes.  Motivation, attitude, and what is done with the clothes on are all part of the greater story revealed with each step, decision, and choice.
When I was thirteen, my fashion vision was limited by simple, singular destinations.  I see there is so much more I can and will continue to learn.  It is helpful to see how others approach the present, looking to learn, follow where appropriate, and strike out on my own where it makes sense.  For example, it is helpful to see that “He [God] dressed in Righteousness, put it on like a suit of armor, with Salvation on his head like a helmet, put on Judgment like an overcoat, and threw a cloak of Passion across his shoulders.”  (Isaiah 59.17)  I can do the same!  I can also dress for the cold outside, bringing warmth into the lives of the people I meet because I am prepared.  You and I have the freedom to choose our fashion.  Today is a day for wisdom.