Verse of the week -- Colossians 3:12-14

In our house a dear six year old boy occasionally needs some nudges to get dressed. He too often jumps out of bed and into his day without thought for what he has on.

We roll through the morning of school and suddenly I realize that this boy has plowed through math and English in his jammies. Not a problem since we homeschool, but we continue to remind him to get dressed and ready for the day.

You never know for sure what twists and turns the day will bring, so getting dressed has you at least outwardly prepared for any event to follow, we remind him.

My heavenly father gave me a similar reminder this week.

His clothing reminder focuses on my internal preparations though. In Colossians 3 he says, "12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

How often do I jump into my day without proper clothing of the spiritual kind?

Just as my little boy might find himself at the lunch table in pajama pants, I will rush into a discipline situation with my kids before clothing myself with a compassionate heart or begin to struggle through a lesson together without putting on patience.

So easy to get caught up in the day and forget to check the mirror of my heart now and then and make sure my clothing is still neat and tidy even when I do remember to put it on.

So, are you dressed for the day?

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

~Colossians 3:12-14~