This is a repost from 2015 – what was true then is true now. As we prepare to move, our next “season” is unfolding before us … and nothing fits the same anymore!

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I have this pair of fuzzy pants. They’re my favorite. My go-to, first thing I put on when the laundry’s done, favorite!

Cute, huh? Colorful, a little loud, maybe, quite noticeable.

There’s just one problem.

They don’t fit anymore. My weight has changed, and these much-loved pants aren’t comfortable now.

So what’s a girl to do? I mean, am I the only one who loves their favorite comfy clothes?

I have a couple of choices. I can keep wearing those cute, but ill-fitting and no longer comfy pants. Or I could break in a new pair.

If we’re being honest, I don’t much like either option.

But I’m finding that the more comfortable I am with my new weight, the less comfortable I am with those favorite pants.

And since I can’t run around with no pants (seriously, no.) I am choosing to break in a new pair.

This new pair is quieter. Less noticeable. Lighter weight, and surprisingly more versatile.

Just like my body changed with my weight, my soul has changed. Not the weight of it, but the shape of it, I think. All the parts are still there, but they seem to have been rearranged. And the things that used to fit me … don’t anymore.

I am doing life, broken open, down in the mud, with other bruised and bleeding souls.

We’re doing real, not fake, even when it makes us wince a little. We’re not worrying about what that guy over there thinks when we’re crying in Starbucks. We’re trusting each other with the most solemn secrets we carry, and finding relief in the trusting.

We’re finding safe places, and recognizing the hurtful ones more quickly, and rerouting and changing and squirming under the scratchy labels of unfamiliar garments even as they become our new favorites.

We’re overwhelmed with mercy, given and received, and relieved of the tyranny of rules that don’t make any sense when we’re bleeding.

When you see me, now, you probably won’t see colorful and loud (well, maybe still loud sometimes) outer garments, even though you were used to me in them. In fact, I hope you don’t notice the outer garment at all, and instead find compassion and mercy and need and hurt all wrapped up together in a way that looks both authentic and vulnerable.

God has taken all the parts of me and shaken out the wrinkles and put them in the proper order for this season and I am done resisting just because it hurts. I wipe the fog off the mirror, and see myself rearranged and even though I would never have chosen the things that made me not fit in my life any more, I can see that God is up to something good.

Is it possible that you’re wearing pants that don’t fit you anymore? Are you willing to let go of the comfortable for awhile, and be rearranged by the Hands of the Potter? I can’t promise it will be painless … in fact I can almost guarantee that it will hurt, at least a little, But you know what?

Those new pants are starting to feel more comfortable after all.

Broken open,

Angie

The post BROKEN OPEN: When Nothing Fits the Same Anymore appeared first on Angie Clayton.

Angie Clayton Author|Speaker|Storyteller

Angie Clayton is an author, speaker and editor who has a passion for connecting with the hurting. She is a storyteller, and her writing is rich with diversity. On her blog, Framing the Days, Angie shares with you the joys and beauty of both the mountain tops and the valleys of her life and the lives of those around her. Her book, “Peering into the Tunnel: An Outsider’s Look into Grief,” is a collection of real stories, as well as helpful suggestions to best serve someone who is grieving.

Angie is a long-time Bible teacher who is passionate about connecting with younger generations, and engaging with the hurting. She spends much of her time doing life one-on-one with women. Her speaking engagements include numerous in-person, radio and podcast appearances on many topics, including Grief, Grandparenting, chronic illness, and life after Retirement.

Achievements:

Angie graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in Accounting and Business Administration, followed by her CPA certification

Personal Interests:

Angie and Greg, married for 36 years now, live in the Kansas City area, and they have two children and four grandchildren. Angie enjoys spending time with the grandkids, reading, puzzles and amateur photography. She is passionate about walking out life’s storms with those around her.

Contribution to the Community:

Angie and her husband were foster parents for a number of years. She volunteered for more than a decade at Camp CUMCITO (City Union Mission’s Camp in the Ozarks), which serves hundreds of low-income kids, primarily from urban KC.

Angie was recognized as “Kindest Kansas Citian” in 2003 for her work with children.

Fun Fact:

Angie homeschooled her kids while they were in high school, which was no easy feat!