Shopping for clothes is not my happy place. When I walk into TJ Max, I start to get a headache. Then I start breathing funny. When the rash on my neck starts, I know I need to find the nearest bookstore.
If the clothing is brightly colored and it fits? I’ll take it. If the shoes are flat and they don’t pinch my toes? I’ll take them. Thank heavens my sister, Julie, has a great sense of style, loves to shop, and tells me when my “look” needs a bit freshening up. (It was a sad day when she told me my favorite blue sweater just shouldn’t be worn anymore. I didn’t even know “pilling” was a thing.)
But. Even though I’m not a fashionista, I do know that clothes and shoes can eventually wear out. So, this particular verse in The Good Book caught my attention:
“During the forty years that I led you through the desert,
your clothes did not wear out,
nor did the sandals on your feet.”
(Deuteronomy 29:5)
That’s pretty amazing. Wandering around in the desert in dust storms and animal doo-doo and the hot sun and no washing machines would be pretty hard on your clothes and shoes. Right?
Sigh.
The Israelites’ 40-year journey into The Promised Land sure reminds me of my wandering. Do you remember when they escaped from Egypt? As the Egyptians chased them, God parted the Red Sea so they wouldn’t all die from drowning. Quite a miracle, right? And yet, three days later they whined and moaned and pleaded, “Just let us go back to what we know.” Which was slavery and beatings and oppression. The situation in front of them looked too big. They were scared. Their “what if’s?” and their imaginations got the best of them. They had already forgotten that God was with them and was providing them with everything they needed.
Yup. Been there. Done that. Bought the t-shirt.
For 40 years God provided them with everything they needed. Food. Shelter. Protection. Blessings.
And clothes and shoes that did not wear out.
It’s too bad I’m not wearing my pedometer these days. Because I sure am putting in the miles as I wander. Usually around my house because we aren’t really going anywhere during this global health crisis. My heart and my body are restless. Looking for a place to settle. Feeling fidgety. Not sure where to go and what to do. You too?
This clothing and sandals verse takes me back to my little note from a few weeks ago. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”
All these years later, God is still meeting us where we are at. Yes, including that situation you’re in. He is there. He knows. He loves. He is faithful.
Clothes. Shoes.
Food. Shelter.
Peace. Hope.
We can stop our wandering.
We can allow ourselves to settle.
God provides.
