February 12th: Inside My Closet...

Well, first...I obviously need to start posting my blog earlier in the day, because my friend Carla keeps stealing my thunder!  You can read my her blog for today here.


Confession:  This assignment on the photo-a-month challenge made me cringe!  I am blessed to have more closets than most people--and definitely more than I've had in any other house I've ever lived in!  But there really aren't any I want to photograph and put on the internet!


So, with almost two weeks to prepare, I thought maybe I'd use this assignment as motivation to get my closet all spiffed up and ready for publication!


<sigh>


Now, I hate to brag, but in the last few weeks I DID clean out and organize my pantry:

Before

After!

And my utility closet:

Aahhh...after!

Ugh...before

However...I know that probably misses the spirit of the assignment.  When I think of "My Closet," I picture the space where I hang my clothes.  You know...this place:

Hannah, who is reading this post over my shoulder, just stated the obvious:  "Mom...I think they mean your whole closet!"

I'm sure she's right.

Sorry!

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was nothing to be gained by showing you a closet that could use a little organizational attention.  You've probably seen one of those before.  And Carla beat me to one of the great spiritual closet analogies you could ever hope to read!  So I decided to look at it another way...

Two years and almost 135 pounds ago, my side of the closet didn't look like this.  It was hard to find clothes that fit me...it certainly wasn't any fun to shop for clothing...and most of what I wore was shapeless and dark-colored.  It felt pointless to even try to look nice because, in my mind, everyone who looked at me saw a fat person.  Period.

If I was smart, kind, funny--if I was possibly anything of worth--I felt that it was utterly eclipsed by my obesity.  When I looked at myself, that was my most defining characteristic.

Now, listen...intellectually, I know that wasn't true.  I know that, regardless of what size my jeans are, I am of tremendous worth to the people who love me...and even more, to God.  But any good before/after shot requires an honest assessment of the "before" conditions.

Truly...you can only appreciate the beauty and splendor of my pantry because I allowed you to see how hideous it looked to start with!

I know that, compared with pre-surgery Missy, I am no smarter, funnier, or more lovable than I was before.  (In fact, considering that I'm a couple years older, I am definitely losing ground in the memory-and-intelligence department!)  But because my size is no longer the first thing people notice about me, what I say and what I do are a lot more likely to have an impact.  

Pretty clothes don't make me a better person.  But the things I wear now are a much better reflection of who I've always been.

And losing weight hasn't made me a better Christian...but, right or wrong, it has made me a witness that people are more likely to take seriously.

Blessings!

Missy

Do you not know that your bodies are temples 

of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, 

whom you have received from God? 

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. 

Therefore honor God with your bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20