A recent medical procedure left me with an incision and scar right at my belt line. I struggled to find the right clothes to wear to be comfortable. One day as we were shopping for new pajamas for my dad my wife suggested that I try a pair of overalls. Overalls have no waist and don’t require a belt. We bought one pair and after a few days bought another. They have been my daily attire for several weeks. I’ve discovered a couple of things wearing overalls. First, most people don’t care nearly as much what I’m wearing as I thought they did. In fact, the people at church wondered what happened to my overalls the one day I attempted to dress up. The rest of the world just doesn’t seem to notice, except for a neighbor who commented that I looked like a minion with my blue overalls and bright yellow long-sleeved t-shirt. We probably wouldn’t have interacted at all if I hadn’t been wearing overalls.
Second, people just seem to be friendlier to a person in overalls. I’m thinking this has more to do with me than others and hope it is something I remember. Initially, wearing overalls was a little bit embarrassing. When I learned that nobody but me cared what I was wearing I began to relax. It seems reasonable that it is easier to approach and converse with someone who is comfortable in their own skin. I’m getting to the point that I can begin wearing my jeans and button-down shirts again, but I’m not giving up the overalls. They’re a great reminder of what’s important, and besides, they’re really comfortable.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. (Proverbs 31:30-31 NIV)
I don’t know if the Proverbs 31 woman exists anywhere. The description in Proverbs is of a super woman who does everything well. I have been blessed by five women in my life who deserve praise as women who fear the Lord. In these times this may be just as rare.
My mother was just moved to memory care. Like me, she is a verbal thinker. She loves to talk and over the past few years her speaking has become more and more disconnected from reality as dementia takes its toll. In the past few weeks she has lost the ability to construct a simple sentence. As a young boy her long prayers before dinner made me impatient. I may never hear one of those long prayers again. I am very grateful to the families who took her in and took her to Sunday School. They taught her to fear the Lord and she and my father taught me. I pray that God will give me wisdom to know how to love her during the remaining days of her life.
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