The Perfect Fit

God’s way is unerring; (perfect) the Lord’s promise is refined; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:31
​

​As I head into the second month with my word CONTENT,  I’m amazed at how many times and places I need that word.  I realize there are way too many times I try to craft things myself and try to fold up God’s plan to make it fit in my spaces.  The thing I wasn’t expecting with this simple word was the way it causes me to slow down and really look around.  If I’m going to be joyful and content where I am, I have to find out where that is.  I have to slow down and see what he’s doing around me and quit trying to squirm out of the things I didn’t plan, didn’t want or don’t enjoy so much!  I sometimes get wiggly and restless and hear my mom’s voice saying, “Just simmer down, this will probably be good for you if you keep your eyes open and your mouth shut”!
 
I walked into a department store dressing room last weekend with some dresses draped over my arm.  I didn’t leave with a new dress, but I left with a lesson.  There was a lady in the dressing room beside me who was also looking for a new dress and she had drug in more than a dozen choices and they all shared a similar quality…they were the wrong size. As I was leaving, she stopped me and asked if I might have a minute to help her.  She said each of the dresses she had selected seemed to have a faulty zipper and she wanted me to help her get them zipped up so she could pick one.  As I struggled to tug up the zippers one after the other just didn’t fit so I asked her if she’d let me go out and choose a couple for her to try.  She was completely frustrated, and tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she agreed.  I quickly grabbed a couple of dresses in a different size and brought them back to the dressing room.  I heard her laugh as she came out with the first one all zipped up and she looked lovely.  She ended up buying both of the dresses that zipped and left all the others behind.  We had a great talk about trying to fit into things and places that just weren’t made for us.
 
I drove home that afternoon without a new dress but happy that a sweet lady whose name I don’t even know went home with two.  I was very content to ponder the lesson that unfolded in the dressing room of a JCPenney department store.  You see, it may have started with dresses, but the lesson goes so much deeper.  I realized how often I try to squeeze or bust my way into something that isn’t for me.  I try to wiggle things around and make them fit to my liking or plan.  I’m content to shove myself into the familiar rather than “size up”.  Like the maidens who tried to squish their foot into a glass slipper that didn’t fit in Cinderella, I go through life trying to force things to fit together my way.  The two new dresses and the glass slipper fit the right lady because they were the ones that were meant for it.  When we rest where our feet are, the Lord will always bless us with just the right things, but we have to be willing to let him offer us what fits perfectly.  Sometimes situations can seem tight and scratchy or big and bulky but if we ask for the grace to wait contently, he will, in his perfect time present us with something far more lovely, comfortable and perfectly detailed. 
 
Saturday night I went to a fancy party in an old dress from the back of my closet and I knew it wasn’t the prettiest dress or the smallest dress or the fanciest dress, but it was a perfect fit and God gave me the grace to feel comfortable and content…and I thanked him for that!
 
A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time in prayer thinking about the places and situations that aren’t a good fit and ask God to help you figure out how to “size up” according to his plan.
 
Blessings on your day!