God brings our "halfway" all the way.

When I think about the original disciples, I know that they were chosen by God to witness miracles, be equipped by the best to spread the gospel and be challenged to leave their homes and families to embark on their work.  They were far from perfect but rose to the occasion to share God’s love and grace with everyone. 

But I also wonder if the disciples ever got tired of all that walking. How about when they needed to get off early that day? Or when they needed a nap from all that work? Did they ever feel like they didn't want to show up?  I know I do.

I found my answers in the Bible, and they gave me peace that I am only human:

Matthew 26:39-40 - Jesus was praying and when he came back to camp he asked Peter, "Couldn't you keep watch with me for one hour?” Yep, the disciples fell asleep! They could have been tired, right?

Matthew 14:15 - The disciples want to send people away, (you know the 5000 Jesus fed?)  They said "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away..."  The poor guys must have wanted to leave early that day.  Also, there is no Costco to get that much food for everyone!  Maybe they forgot who they are working with... Jesus!

Mark 10:13 – “People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them."  Okay, this is not okay...but, hear me out: if you have children like me or work with children, you can wonder if the disciples were having a hard time getting the parents and children to follow directions so everyone could have a turn. I am just saying that they have had enough! (But we know this is not okay with Jesus.)

We all have been chosen to do something. At our jobs, as a parent, as a family member, in church, as a volunteer, you name it, we all have tasks to complete. Time never stops because we are tired, burned out or we simply don't want to.  

We had a family stop at the Prom Closet to get dresses. This was an appointment outside our regular hours, and I remember that day I was not feeling well myself and Tammy was with me. I can't remember if she had just come from work, but I am pretty sure she had and was tired, too.

Requests for special appointments are not unusual. They can be hard at times because sometimes people don't show up or can be very late. But they can also be rewarding.  Either way, God always has lessons, but I don't always do a good job of recognizing that until much later. 

Anyway, we found the dresses for everyone.  Tammy was bagging the dresses while I cleaned up the dressing rooms when I heard Tammy say "Yes, we have wedding dresses." All I could do was think God is not done but I am. 

We head over to the back room and start looking for wedding dresses.  Wedding dresses are something I try to stay away from receiving in the prom closet. They are the "children'' that I tend to reject because they are heavy and take up a lot of space.

We found two dresses we thought would work for this sweet bride. (Did I mention that she was going to get married that weekend three days after the appointment?) My heart was beating fast because our bride couldn't make any adjustments to the dress because she didn't have enough time. She tried the first dress and that was a no.  I started to get nervous.  We only had one more shot at this and we needed a homerun.

She tried on the second dress, and she looked amazing! That dress was perfect for her! Her aunt who raised her was there, too. She was anxious and happy for her, too. The emotions in the room I can't describe. This sweet bride ended with her beautiful dress, shoes, and jewelry to accent and we also found a tuxedo for the groom! 

But she almost walked out with a blessing halfway done.  I learned that my attitude doesn't stop God from blessing others! I am so thankful for Tammy, and I know she feels the same way about me because just like the disciples, we often fall short of the grace of God but we catch each other so the blessings coming from God are never halfway done!

God brings it all together.

Blessings 

Aileen

Putting on Our Mary & Martha

Since the beginning of February, I have felt like I am running on a treadmill - trying to catch up with God. Have you ever felt that way? With everything going on, the more you do the less you feel that you are accomplishing anything.  I often get discouraged.  Ready to give up because it seems never ending.  The good news is, it doesn't have to feel that way.

Getting the prom closet ready to open for the season is a huge task. There are so many moving parts from getting the closet cleaned, making and hanging new curtains, getting tags for dresses, getting our war room ready for volunteers, making jewelry tags, sorting shoes and on and on.  Why not add to the mix my insecurities:  What if we don't have enough? That sometimes gives me anxiety on top of all the things that demand my attention like God (yes, God requires our attention), my family, job, life and so on.  See that treadmill?  On the outside I appear calm, collected, and positive but on the inside, I can be a hot mess!

The day before we were set to open for the season, we took the Prom Closet “on the go” to a high school in Winston-Salem.  On top of all the things we had to do we added unloading and reloading racks of dresses.  Going in on the first day we were already tired from the trip. 

I feel tired just thinking about it and you probably feel tired just reading this…

But, then God steps in.

Have you ever heard the story of Martha and her sister Mary from Luke 10:38-42?  Martha opened her house to welcome Jesus.  Can you imagine what you would do if Jesus was coming to your house?  I know I would faint first and then get busy cleaning!

Both ladies offer their forms of leadership to Jesus.  Martha is a doer and gets down to serving.  Mary on the other hand offers a tremendous act of worship and sits at the feet of Jesus.  Many times I have heard "Be a Mary not Martha,” but what if I am both? There are times when I respond by doing rather than in worship. 

The part I love about this story is that both had a genuine conversation with Jesus. Just because Martha asked Jesus "Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me." (Luke 10"40b) Jesus didn't reject her. He didn't say to her “Listen Missy, do you know who I am?” 

He doesn't mind that we tell him exactly how we feel.  Let's face it, He already knows. 

My point is it takes time and effort to get the Prom Closet ready because we want to welcome students and their families into our home. We don't want them to see our dust bunnies.   The great part is our Prom Squad volunteers have both Martha and Mary personalities.

I remember Saturday being tired, worried, and anxious. I usually am tired on opening day because I don't sleep well from fear that I won't get up in time.  So, I put on my Martha spirit.  Then in our "war room" our squad gathered for the first time in the season to pray. I Remember praying for energy, for each of our squad members, and for the families coming in.  We were able to display our Mary spirit and worship at the feet of God. 

Then the clock struck 9 a.m. and Martha was back in all of us!

Blessings, 

Aileen 

The "War Room"

Do omelets come with eggs?

We have entered week four of this season at the Prom Closet!  You are probably wondering what has God been up to all this time? Well, get ready!

On February 17 we packed up 341 dresses, shoes, and accessories to take our "Prom on the Go" to Winston-Salem. Yep, the day before we were set to open for prom season here in Huntersville!

That morning our prom squad went out for brunch at a local cafe before heading to Winston-Salem. As we started to order our meals, one of our amazing golden girls asked the waitress in the most innocent way “Does this omelet come with eggs?” All of us at the table got really quiet.  Our amazing waitress didn't know what to think, how to react, or what to say (she was not alone, the rest of the prom squad was the same way.)  You could tell by her face that this was a serious question for her.  Then we all burst out laughing.

As I looked at the menu to check what was on the omelet I realized that to make such delicious breakfast a lot ingredients are needed.  The prom squad is like one big omelet.  Each of our squad members brings a different gift, personality, walk of life, and spiritual life. But somehow God holds it all together. Get it? We are the ingredients, and He is the egg that covers us all. What a way to start season 13 being compared to an omelet!

As we all finished our brunch, sharing laughs and prayer around the table, we all knew was God was already there and providing a hope that we would at least serve one student and that would be worth the trip.  God had a different plan: we served 25!!!!

One notorious dress in our inventory we called the “cupcake dress” because it’s long, flowing ruffles reminded us of icing on a cupcake.  We were determined that dress was not coming home with us! God put together all the ingredients for this to happen. The girl that got this dress was beautiful but when she put on this cupcake dress she glowed and her smile was miles long.  As she modeled the dress it no longer reminded us of a cupcake.  Instead, we saw a beautiful part of God’s creation beaming before us.

I learned that if the Prom Closet wasn't there that she wouldn't have gone to prom.  More importantly she wouldn't have felt God's love over her. That was the case for all the students there that day and we realized the work we had done to get there was beyond worth it.

I hope that the students and teachers got a glimpse of God's goodness that day. I hope they saw all the ingredients made that omelet taste like the grace, love, worthiness, and mercy of God.

Next time you eat an omelet, think about all the ingredients you use.  Think about each ingredient as your gifts and how God has been using each one.  And if not, what are you waiting for? Omelets do taste better with lots of ingredients and that usually allows others to smell the delicious aroma, too.

I guess omelets always do come with eggs - just like God's presence comes with grace, strength, and hope.

"He will cover you with feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart" Psalm 91:4

Blessings,

Aileen