Do you know what size pants you wear?
Doesn’t that sound like an invasive question? I might as well ask you how old you are and expect you tell me your deepest darkest secrets!
I was at the grocery store last week and two adorable, hip, young and beautiful sisters (like real sisters who grew up together in the same house) were scanning and bagging my groceries.
Our conversation landed on pants and pant sizing in particular. Their pants were giving them a bit of an identity crisis…in one store they were categorized as “Large.” They laughed at how another store called the same size an “Extra Small.” Different brands provided different labels for them to wear…26, 27, 28, 29 or 32. What to do with all these numbers? Depending on the store or brand you can be a 2, 4, 6, 8 or apparently whatever number will make you feel good. At first I was irritated with stores and brands that offer what’s called “vanity sizing.” As if we are dumb enough to fall for it…as if our pant size would have any impact on what pants we buy…as if our body image could be helped or hurt by a number on a tag. BUT the insanity is – the number really does matter. Why do we do this?
Why have we given our pants power over how we feel about ourselves? We are basically sizing-up and comparing ourselves to a number… and to every woman who wears pants.
My conversation with those sisters started me thinking: there are a lot of things we give power to and allow to have influence over our happiness and how we view of ourselves.
Things like…
- How much money we do or don’t have
- Other people’s opinions and even their comments
- Our clothes…how they look and fit
- What we are invited to or not included in
- How many likes we get on social media
- The car we drive or house we live in
- The performance of our children
- Our spouse’s response
- If the dishes are done or if the house is a pigsty
Our satisfaction with our life hangs in the balance as we compare what we have with what others have.
When I was in the 7th grade I compared my pant size, bra size and shoe size to all the other girls in my school. They were my measuring stick. I desperately wanted smaller feet and bigger breasts. So I stuffed my training bra and convinced my dad to buy me size 7 volleyball shoes instead of the size 8 that actually fit.
That year I lost a cotton ball out of my bra during science class (yes, it was as humiliating as it sounds) and I lost my both my big toe nails. Back then I was just a girl trying to get comfortable in my own skin. Maybe you can relate?
I had to learn some painful lessons on contentment.
I’m older and wiser by a few decades but I’m still in the process of being comfortable in my own skin. If we’re honest, I think many of us are still in the process of finding contentment with the bodies, life and circumstances that we have been given. So what would happen if we didn’t give things like the size of our pants, our stuff, our accomplishment and the opinions of others power over us? What if we did not compare ourselves to each other or the standards of this world?
What if we were comfortable in our own skin? I think we would experience contentment.
Contentment is, “An internal satisfaction which does not demand changes in external circumstances”—Holman Bible Dictionary.
The Apostle Paul offers us some nitty-gritty real life wisdom on how to have internal satisfaction. He said, “Don’t love money [stuff]; be satisfied [content] with what you have.
For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (Heb 13:5 NLT)
Contentment comes when we stop loving our “stuff” and just trust Jesus.“He will never fail you. He will never abandon you.”
Be content with the life you have. Our value and happiness isn’t tied to what others have or don’t have or to a resume of external successes or a list of personal achievements. It isn’t based on the stuff we own, or the size of our pants, shoes, or bra. Don’t give power to those things. They will not satisfy. They will leave us wanting more.
The solution to the problem of comparison is contentment. Jesus is our measuring stick. I’m not your measuring stick and you are not mine. I want to leave you with the secret on how to be content no matter what your life is like. It’s not my secret, it’s Paul’s and he lays it out for us in Philippians 4:11-13. He says,
“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Ponder this with me…are you satisfied? Are you comfortable in your own skin? Are you content with the life you have? Are you inviting Jesus to strengthen you in all your circumstances?
Let’s refuse to be each other’s measuring stick. Let’s find contentment and the freedom to be each other’s biggest cheerleaders. To celebrate all that is good, comfort each other when life is hard, and love as Jesus loves.
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the power we give our pants!
Join me, Laurie and Julie Thursday afternoons at 2:30pm on 93.9 KPDQ and Sunday mornings at 11:30am on True Talk 800. Each week we explore God’s Word and discuss practical ways we can live for the joy of it in our homes, relationships and community.
Until next time,
Sherrie Ashcraft, Women's Ministry Director
sherrieashcraft@gmail.com 971-285-6699
Wedding bells will soon be ringing for our own Jaimie Sherwood, soon to be Jaimie Ashcraft. Janet George has asked me to invite all of you to a bridal shower at her house (2751 Phillips Rd., Gaston) next Wednesday, April 20th, at 6:30 PM. If you don't know how the story of Jaimie and my son, Mark, came about, you should read her post about it on Facebook. Only the Lord could have made this happen! Because the situation is unique, (Mark is in prison, and the wedding will take place there on the 25th), so is the shower. We usually don't ask like this, but Janet would like everyone to bring a cash gift to bless Jaimie and help her with expenses incurred even with a prison wedding. (Motel, license, travel, etc.) In a couple of years, when Mark is released and life has settled down, they plan on having another wedding where we can all celebrate together. If you have any questions, please call Janet at 503-539-1518.
