*REAL LIFE ADDITION* sisterhood of the traveling pants:
They’ve been trekked across the globe. they’re worn out, paint-splattered, stained & torn, yet ironically lovely. Though they were bought in an asian thrift shop for $1, they posses immeasurable value. They carry more stories than a book could tell- holding secrets & inside jokes & bittersweet memories. They’ve been washed in the rivers of Thailand. & hung up to dry on rooftops in Cambodia. they’re shared back & forth between all my sisters like a family token. We love them, imperfect & all.
God spoke to me through the jeans. Weird & unexpected… lol typical God move right?!
He showed me I’m a lot like these jeans. I used to wish I was the brand new, untainted, expensive, clean, pair folded neatly in the fancy department store. They appear glamorous & desirable at first glance, but they sit plainly on the shelf. They don’t have a past that has grown & stretched them. The lack of rips & stains is really just a lack of life- a lack of experience & adventure. Sure, they might smell a bit better, & look a bit fresher but that’s only because they haven’t felt the rush of a natural river. They haven’t ran through city streets in the rain. they haven’t climbed a tree, or felt the sweet embrace of the village children.
I’m not those perfect jeans in the department store, I never will be. I’m messy & chaotic & don’t have it all together. I forget to brush my hair & trip over my own feet & choke on air sometimes. I’m over-dramatic & love to take afternoon naps & cant keep my room clean for more than a day. I have “stains & rips & tears” here & there but they make me, me! They tell my story. They tell Gods story in me. & God loves me this way. He sees me exactly as I am- flawed. But His unconditional love demolishes the burden of appearing to be perfect. He loves us in the midst of our mess.
Like the jeans, I’m a chaotic mess of imperfection, but I’m learning to embrace that. I’m learning to value authenticity over perfection, uniqueness over conformity, & vulnerability over complacency.
These jeans tell a story. & so do I. & so do you. Embrace that!!
XOXOXO, brynley
