Proof That God Has A Sense Of Humor

I have a sin to confess.  Lean in real close and I’ll whisper it to you:  I’m an intellectual snob.  I’ve looked down on people who are interested in fashion (i.e. clothing) or work in fashion.  There.  I said it.  Lord, please forgive me of my intellectual pride!

You’re probably wondering, “How does this have anything to do with God having a sense of humor?”  As long as I was working as a physician, I was doing REAL work.  I mean, saving people’s lives – or at least getting them over their poison ivy a day or two early.  Either way – it was IMPORTANT work!  People who worked in fashion – not real work.  I mean, how many of them had 12 years of post-high school education under their belts and the pieces of paper to prove it?  And, how hard could the work be?  Really?  And since I’m pretty much a “jeans and T-shirt” kind of girl at the moment, it’s been pretty easy to be something of a “reverse snob”.  I didn’t look down on people because of their lack of fashion sense, but rather because they spent any energy at all on fashion.  I prefer books to magazines, ideas to art – and I thought that made me better than other people.

Of course, during all this, I was still more than happy to accept that “real” artists (who paint or sculpt) and musicians do useful work.  God spent plenty of time in the Old Testament giving instructions for the artistic things He wanted in the tabernacle.  Besides, God made petunias and roses – the epitome of beauty.  Making art makes the world a better place for all of us.  Unless that art is fashion, of course.  I did have my standards.

About a year ago, I watched a documentary about Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue.  And, I must admit that there are a lot of smart people in the fashion industry.  And they make beautiful things.  So – time to bite the bullet - I had to admit that fashion is as much of an art form as any other.  This acceptance means that I have to give up my superior attitude toward an entire industry.  (It may also be possible that I need to give up all my notions of superiority – it’s not exactly one of those attitudes that Jesus encouraged, you know?)

PWM and I are planning to open a yarn store one day.  I’m also starting to make my own designs so that I can sell some of my knitted items as well.  And these things mean that I need to know something about fashion – colors, fibers, shapes, etc.  In fact, one of the most popular knitting magazines is Vogue Knitting. You may laugh now. I’m pretty sure that God is.

In the last few years, though, I’ve learned tons about fibers, knitting techniques, etc.  I’ve also learned how good a nice soft pair of gloves feels, how pretty socks can make my day, and how a fun scarf can perk up my mood.  I may not worry too much about what’s on the runways each season, but I am going to have to learn to pay more attention to current fashion trends if I want to sell any knitwear.  It’s kind of fun to see my artistic side try to peek out a little.  And the part of me that likes math is happy because making my own patterns definitely requires math.  Maybe it’s OK to enjoy clothing.  If God clothed the “lilies of the field” with such beauty, I’m betting He won’t be too upset with us trying to beautify our bit of the world.

Yes, God has a sense of humor.  Go ahead and laugh and I’ll laugh right with you.  And pray (yet once again) for humility.  I’m never going to set the fashion world on fire, but I do hope that my little foray into designing and making knitwear (however small – I like socks, gloves, and mittens) makes our little corner of the world a little more beautiful and happy.  And manages to bring glory to God (the ultimate Designer) in the process.

 

P.S. I’ll post later this week about  how the sweater is going.  And I’m working on another Mobius scarf.  And got some amazingly wonderful yarn on Saturday that I haven’t decided what to do with yet.