When I was pregnant with my first son, I woke up one morning about three weeks before his due date and discovered that my pants no longer fit. As in, NONE of my pants fit. I was down to 2 dresses, both dirty, and maybe 3 2-XL shirts, and I did not want to spend any more money on ugly, short-term-use maternity clothing. We were having a BABY after all, and the new expenses in my future loomed large.
I Febrezed one of the dirty dresses, put a sweater over a stain, and made it to work. Around lunch time, though, I was beginning to crumble from the indignity of it all (hormones) and called my husband, sniffling about spending MORE money on pants.
After listening to me cry for a while, he said . . . very calmly, very practically:
“Honey, I know you’re stressed, but – well – you have to wear pants.”
It was such a simple, common sense thing, and I realized he was right. As much as I wanted to conserve my money for the next month’s expenses, I did actually have to wear something over my underwear. That was non-negotiable. So I went out and bought some over-priced maternity pants.
And had a baby a week later.
In the almost 5.5 years since that moment, I’ve had a lot of “you have to wear pants” moments. In fact, the phrase has become code in our family for those times when we have to quit focusing on the future to take care of today.
Don’t want to get a root canal? Well, “You have to wear pants!”
Don’t want to fix the brakes on the car you are planning to sell? Well, “You have to wear pants!”
Don’t want to invest in the job you know you will leave soon? Well, “You have to wear pants!”
If you woke up this morning and realized that you too are going to have to shell out for some short-term necessity, can I encourage you to do something? BUY THE PANTS. Do the thing you have to do. Don’t overthink it or penalize yourself for it or waste a single precious tear over what you were planning to do with that money.
Psalm 139 tells us that God knows when we sit and when we rise (vs. 2), when we go out and when we recline (vs. 3). In fact, all the days ordained for us (including today) were written in His book before one of them came to pass (vs. 16). And He –
– the one who knows!
– the one who can feed more than 5,000 from five loaves of bread and two fish!
– the one who walked through death and rose again!
tells us not to worry!
To ask only for our daily bread! (Matthew 6:11)
To leave tomorrow’s worries for tomorrow! (Matthew 6:34)
So, I know whatever you are facing today is uncomfortable and an inconvenience. I know you’d rather stay home or call in sick or cry about it to your spouse or your mom or your dog. But maybe instead of doing those things, just take a deep breath and buy the pants. Thank God for the resources to do it. And move forward with your day free to tackle whatever is next.
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