Thursday 20 September 2012

Is God Into Fashion?

Is God into fashion?

A few years ago we were visiting some friends in a small church in the Cheltenham Area of the UK.  On the way home I remarked to my wife, Pauline, that the couple leading the church community appeared to be very hard up financially.
My wife agreed and told me she had left them an envelope on their mantelpiece containing some money, to help them out a little.  My reaction was very godly.  “Where on earth did you get the money to leave them a gift, we are broke too!”  Pauline explained that she had been saving up to purchase a jump-suit she had seen in a local boutique.  She had been squirreling the money away into an envelope at the bottom of her handbag, it had taken her a while, but finally she had saved up enough and was all set to go and purchase it.  This is the money that she had left on the mantelpiece; so no jump-suit for Pauline!
I congratulated her and commiserated, it was rare for her to have any new clothes.  Pauline explained, “It’s not as bad as all that, I saw two jump-suits one was really nice but very expensive, one was okay and cheaper.  I had just saved up enough for the cheaper one, but it was really a compromise, because the expensive one was the one I really wanted, so I haven’t lost that much by leaving them the money.”  This kind of feminine logic does not always make sense to the male species.
We arrived home, unlocked the door, and walked into our London home; to our surprise, hanging over the door to our lounge area was a piece of clothing in a cellophane cover.  My wife hastily pulled off the cellophane and held it against her.  There was a catch in her voice as she explained, “This is the jump-suit I was telling you about, the more expensive one, and it’s the exact colour I wanted, and it’s my size!”
There are always other people living with us, so we rounded them up and asked them why a jump-suit was hanging in our lounge.  They explained that a man had delivered it earlier in the day, he said that Pauline had done him a favour a couple of years ago and he had never said thank you, the jump-suit was his way of showing his appreciation.  He also said that if it was the wrong colour, the wrong size, or the wrong item, that it could be changed.  But it was perfect in every way. 
I know there are those of you who will want to say that this was a strange coincidence, but that is one word I am extremely sceptical about.  Rather I think that Father God does care about and love his children, he cares about every detail of our life, and he loves us passionately and profusely.  But I know some of you will prefer to cling to that doubtful explanation of coincidence.
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