Casual Friday©2012 Lynn Rebuck

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

I want to hug whoever invented casual Friday.

Somehow they knew that by the time the end of the workweek rolled around, all that I would have left in my closet was a pair of crumpled jeans and a green “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” tee shirt that saved me from getting serially pinched on St. Patrick’s Day.

I am now lobbying for the institution of Mismatch Monday, Too-Small Tuesday, and Wrinkled Wednesday.  I am toying with the idea of Jersey Thursday.

When I was self-employed I didn’t have to worry about such trivial concerns as getting dressed for the day.  When you wake up at 4 a.m. with ideas streaming into your head, your only concern is to quickly write them down and return to that dream involving Hugh Jackman, a Maserati, and a calorie-free Chocolate Mud Pie.

As a writer, my workweek wardrobe schedule consisted of Bathrobe Monday, PJ Tuesday, and What’s-in-the-Hamper Wednesday.  This serves a practical purpose.  If we writers stopped long enough to shower, dress, or to select matching clothing, our good ideas are gone as fast as fashions change.

Last fall the Lord led me to donate all of the clothes in my closet to charity before I left on a trip. While initially this seemed a little strange, and would certainly simplify my packing, the Lord led me to understand that this was clearly desired by Him. When I questioned why he was having me do this, His response was simple.  “I’m giving you a new wardrobe for your new position.”  At the time I didn’t have a new position, nor had I applied for a job. I was puzzled.

“Remember Joseph in the Bible?” the Spirit inquired. 

“Yes,” I responded.

“Remember when he was taken out of prison to serve in Pharaoh’s household?”

 “Yes,” I responded again.

“Do you think he wore the same clothes there that he did in prison?”

“No, of course he didn’t. Ah, I get it now. So I’m getting a new position, and a new wardrobe to go with it.”

I emptied out my closet and headed to the nearest donation bin.  Those close to me questioned if I was going crazy or if it was a mid-life crisis in the making. That happens when God calls you to action.  You see when God calls you, other people often don’t hear it.

I left for my travel out of state soon after that exchange with the Spirit.  My small carryon was lighter this trip.  I flew across the country with the clothes I wore, a few undergarments to keep the TSA agents entertained, and a jacket. I arrived to stay with a Christian family that I had never met.  What I didn’t know is that the Lord had clothing waiting for me when at my destination. Apparently God is opposed to paying baggage fees. My hosts had a collection of blouses, pants, sweaters, and sweatshirts in my size on hand to give to me before I mentioned my need. They had gloves, boots, jackets, and hats. Everything I needed was already in the house. I learned that day to trust in the Lord’s prescient provision.

When I returned to Pennsylvania, I met a woman at a local home group who had just flown across the country with the clothes she wore, a couple of worn shirts and pants, some undergarments in her carryon to arrive in a town strange to her. Sound familiar? It was hardly a coincidence. A God-incidence, it seems.

She had arrived here to escape an abusive family situation.  This courageous woman had accepted Christ just a few days after her arrival at the home of my friend, one week before I met her. Through obedience to what seemed like a strange directive from God, I had compassion for her. I knew what it felt like to arrive in a strange place with little clothing to your name.  

Before I took that trip out of state, the Lord called me to start a ministry when I got there. Through donations that I received to the ministry during that trip, I was able to provide the woman with gift cards to allow her to select a brand new wardrobe to start her new life with Christ.  When I saw her next, after her shopping expedition, she was radiant and beaming.

I learned that there is a flow to giving and receiving, whether it is clothing, money, possessions, or time.  I gave away clothes and then I received clothes; I received a financial donation, I gave away the financial donation to another for clothing.  Throughout this process, I experienced Love in a whole new way, through both the acts of giving and receiving.  And so did this new believer.

“Don’t be like them, “Jesus said of those who prayed to be seen of men and whose concern was for themselves, their reputation, and their own possessions. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him,” it says in Matthew 6: 8.   Often, He knows that what we most need is to give something away so he calls us to release things.

So what is it that you’ve been holding on to that God is calling you to release into the life of another so that you can experience this powerful flow of Love and provision? What is it that He knows someone else needs? It may be something old, coveted, or new, but I guarantee that what you gain in the process of faithful giving is joy greater than the happiness any possession can bring. Remember, He knows everything you have need of, even on casual Friday. 

Lynn Rebuck is a national award-winning humor columnist, speaker, and director of Lynn Rebuck Ministries.  Her column appears weekly in print, online, and on Amazon Kindle Blogs, where it’s one of the top humor blogs on life and parenting. Go to www.LynnRebuck.com for more information about Lynn, her ministry, and to read past columns. You’ll find her on Facebook and Twitter, and can email her at Lynn@LynnRebuck.com. © 2012 Lynn Rebuck.

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