The Daughter She Never Had

Friday was Earle's birthday and on Sunday, as usual, he made his way to Kernersville to visit with his Mom. When he returned, he dumped a large gift bag onto the dining room table. There was no doubt in my mind that it held clothes.

My mother-in-law has exquisite taste and her overflowing closets are filled with classic designs, herringbones, leopard prints, checks, and plaids. For the almost 40 years I've known her, she has carefully curated her wardrobe and tastefully arranged ensembles for every occasion. 

She tries, a bit in desperation, to outfit us as well, but with Earle's rubric for dressing "Is it clean?" and mine  "Does it fit?" it's a bit of an uphill slog.

On Monday, I go to unpack the gift bag. Inside I find three white polos - great choices for Earle because he can't mismatch white. As expected, the fourth item was a sweater. 

Earle has, thanks to his Mom, an excellent collection of sweaters. And like Strega Nona's Pasta Pot, no matter how many he gives away, he seems to have more. 

But this time something is different. I notice the back of the sweater is longer than the front. I hold it up - the shoulders don't seem very wide and the neckline is well, rather feminine. When I see it still sports the tags from Kohl's I enter it into their online store and low and behold...

My Mother-in-Law has given my big, burly husband a woman's sweater for his birthday! 

When I texted him the screenshot above, he immediately texted back "I'm the daughter she never had!" 

We've laughed over this for days, but in the back of my mind there is a thread of thought. How much is too much? Our closets are overflowing. New is "fresh", new is "better," but are we as people "fresher" and "better" for it? I'm setting myself a challenge this year, to pare down, to keep, collect, and stockpile less - and clothes are a good place to start. If someone else needs something we don't, why are we holding on? Didn't Jesus tell us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:28-30)

 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?"

Father, help us be less focused on our what we put on our bodies and more focused on what we put in our heart. Give us the wisdom to made good and careful choices, living as you would have us do. Amen. 

And PS? That sweater fits me like a charm!