Tag on the Outside. Peace on the Inside.

I once sat behind a woman at church whose sweater was inside out. It was a striped hip-length cardigan. Kinda wrinkled, but cute. When I noticed that glaring white tag announcing the haste with which she dressed that morning, my first thought was to tap her on the shoulder and let her know. Then I caught myself, “Don’t be stupid. You’ll embarrass her.” So true.

I didn’t even know this woman amid the hundreds gathered to worship. And I was quickly reminded of how hard it is with little ones to even get out the door on Sunday. Aside from the seams and white tag showing on her sweater, this woman was a glowing mom, cuddling a baby boy with rosy cheeks.  In the middle of the service he became restless, so she pulled her crumpled nursing cape from the diaper bag and nestled him close under the inside-out sweater. She worshipped freely and enjoyed the sermon. Meanwhile, her husband eyed his family sweetly,  his jeans pocket branded with a glaring nursery sticker, announcing another little one was somewhere in the building. This young couple enjoyed the service together. It was a blessing to watch.

So yeah. If you ever leave the house with your clothes inside out, or shoes that don’t match, or wearing sweatpants, or sporting a bedhead, someone is probably going to notice. But it’s awesome that you showed up to church and put God first, or got the kids to the bus stop, or made it safely through the carpool lane, or dropped by the store to get that milk or medicine. It doesn’t matter if your tag is on the outside if you have peace in your heart. Keep it up, Mom. Keep it up.