One of the best things about living in the Garden of Eden had to have been not making the decision about what to wear every morning. While that thought is a bit sarcastic, it crossed my mind as I was sifting through my closet recently. I have been purging. Some things don’t fit; some things I am just tired of wearing. The problem then is that my options are getting limited and it’s time to shop for some new items. I know there are women who would jump at the opportunity to peruse the local boutiques or take a trip to the mall, but it stirs up in me a feeling of dread. It seems like the designers cater to the junior sized models rather than the 40+ year old moms who have gone through a few pregnancies and like to eat cakes and cookies. As much as I hate trying on clothes, it is a necessary evil to determine if sleeves and pants are long enough or if the necessary bulges are disguised. This is a major contrast to my husband who can go into a store, find his size in the color and style he likes, and take it home without ever gracing the doors of a dressing room. I can’t explain to you how annoying that is to someone who usually goes to the dressing room with the maximum number of items allowed only to leave with one item or less that I am somewhat certain looks okay. There has been more than one occasion where we have had sharp words in the clothing department about whether he needed to try on his selections before checking out. He insists that he doesn’t need to try them on, and it makes no sense to me.
Trying things on is sort of a test run. I turn from the left to the right; look in the mirror head on and again from behind; bend over; sit down; turn around… you get the idea. Before I decide if this piece of clothing is a viable option, I need to consider it in a variety of positions, think about when I would wear it, examine how comfortable I feel, and determine if the need justifies the cost.
“Try it on” is a phrase that was presented to the Ridder Church Renewal Team in February at our first retreat. Whether we realize it or not, we all make assumptions and judgements about information that we hear almost instantly. In most conversations, the person talking has 3-9 seconds to engage with the listener before we begin to make decisions about what is being said or think about how we are going to respond. The presenters at the Ridder Retreat asked us to suspend that process, to be patient. Instead of making an immediate ruling in our head whether an idea was right or wrong, we were asked to try it on, to listen from a place of “What if”. “What if what they are saying is true? What would that mean for me, for my congregation, for my community?”
Jesus also encouraged people to try things on. In Luke 8, Jesus warns his disciples and the people to “consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.” Jesus goes on in chapter 12 asking them to “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Jesus knew that much of what he was saying was challenging for the people of his time to listen to and comprehend, so he asked them to try it on. What if what he was saying was true?
So I extend the invitation to each of you to “try it on”. Instead of knee-jerk responses to new ideas, instead of reaching a decision within 9 seconds, instead of making judgements based on other people’s opinions, I ask you to consider. And think about “What If”. Erin Jacobsma