Thursday, August 4, 2016

Comfort

I love to be comfy.  Jeans and a t-shirt.  Shorts and a t-shirt. Yoga pants and a t-shirt.  Pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.  I have beautiful friends who get up every morning and pull together a beautiful outfit, complete with flawless make up and perfect hair (even perfectly messy hair).  That's gotta be some kind of spiritual gift.  All I know is that I don't have it.

If I'm going to work, I'll muster up a work appropriate cutish outfit - thanks in large part to my momma who works at Steinmart.  But as soon as I get home - back to comfy.  In the summer it's all comfy all the time. Even at church now it's jeans and t-shirt so I can get in the floor with my Valuable kiddos.

It's not just clothes that make us comfortable.  Clothes are just the finishing touch.  If you aren't comfortable with your yourself,  no clothes can fix that.  Everything will feel binding. We have to be comfortable with who we are in all areas.

I turned 42 last Monday.  Comfort has been seasonal for me.  Some times I have it, some times I don't.  I'm not ashamed to say that I've let others or situations determine my comfort level in the past. And it always involved comparison.  "Look at her.  I don't look like that."  "I don't have that thing that everyone else has.  I feel stupid."  "Everyone is doing that and I'm not.  I feel left out."

We can all recognize these as lines we said to our teenage selves.  But I'm telling you that I said them to my 35 year old self.  And my 40 year old self.  And my 42 year old self.  These are straight up adult lines for me. I'd like to think that I've handled it better as an adult than I did as a teen but, really, I have no idea if I fooled anyone.  But I know for sure, I feel uncomfortable a lot if I hide it well or not.

I would love to give you a 5 part plan to become more comfortable with yourself.  A one and done solution.  But I ain't got one.

"Awesome Aimee.  You are totally helpful.  I'm super glad I took the time read your blog today!" Hold up! I do have something for you.  One thing I know for sure:



"Ummm, excuse me Aimee.  I thought we were talking about comfort, not joy." (You're humming the Christmas carol now, aren't you?)

I know! Just hang with me a minute.  As the Christmas carol implies, comfort and joy are closely related (you're full out singing now, right?) I don't know for sure, but I don't think the song is wishing for physical comfort.  I think it's referring to spiritual comfort.  Knowing who you are, knowing whose you are and being at peace with both things.  And when we get to that place, joy is right around the corner.

That's a daily exercise.  Reminding myself of who I am and whose I am.  Sometimes it's an hourly exercise.  But I'm working on it.  Because I'm all about being comfortable.

Give me that comfort, that joy, a soft t-shirt and my Chuck Taylors and I can rule the world!



1 comment :

Anonymous said...

I love you and your Chuck Taylors..... I JUST LOVE YOU PERIOD.