Like so many others who are crowding into stores and shopping malls, I’ve given some thought as to what I’ll wear for Easter. And, for me this is not just a seasonal topic. Since my early years, I’ve been enthralled with clothes. Many an hour was spent drawing ladies shoes; tall, glitzy shoes that would make any podiatrist cringe. That fascination morphed into an interest in all that I could create on my sewing machine. Not all my efforts were met with happy results, but I persisted. In college, I majored in textiles and clothing and was immersed in the fine art of design, illustration, construction, and marketing of clothing.

I’ve often wondered what drove me to pursue the fashion industry? Was it just a creative urge? A giftedness? A discontent or insecurity about my own appearance? Trying to perfect the imperfect – Certainly the whole field of apparel is fraught with traps – more accurately called idols. And God has had to pull me out of a few.

But the clothing industry is not new; for thousands of years we’ve been engaged in The Great Cover-Up. Clothing the human body started in the Garden when the guilt-ridden first man and wife made shifts of fig leaves to cover their shame. “Who told you that you were naked?” In compassion, God Himself made more suitable (and much more costly) garments of skin to replace their flimsy hand-made aprons.

While I have enjoyed following the fashion trends – with hems that go up and down; shoulders that are enhanced or “natural”; lines that are flowing and easy or figure-hugging – I’ve come to realize that God continues to be intensely interested in our coverings as well. So much so, that Jesus came to bestow on us His beloved garments; garments that will not be on display in the Easter Parade on 5^th Avenue, but priceless, timeless wedding garments that will endure for all eternity: “… a crown of beauty instead of ashes … a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair … and a robe of righteousness …”(Isaiah 61) One size fits all that covers all of our sins and imperfections.

While I’ve been trying to guess weather conditions on Easter Sunday and “Is it too early to wear white? etc., etc., etc.” I’m hearing Jesus words, “… Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you. …” (Luke 12:22-28a)

What are you wearing for Easter?