If you grew up in Canada anywhere from 1967 to 1996 you would have watched Mr. Dressup. He was an understudy of Mr. Rogers who was the first to take on the Mr. Dressup role (little known fact). He was gentle and kind and slow to speak and spoke to children like they were children but without speaking down to them. We all loved him.
Mr. Dressup demonstrated on every episode the power, the magic and the fun of dressing up! Children love dressing up too! As adults we tend to get so caught up in the here and now, and in the practical problems that hover every minute of every day, that we never think to plan a dress-up escape. And yet it has power and it works! At least for awhile.
All that to introduce the power of dressing up. The other day one of my grandchildren looked at my Bible and said “Grandma, have you actually read that?” I nodded. “The whole thing?” she exclaimed. “Yes,” I replied, “but just like you, I find it hard to understand.”
I went on to explain to her that even though the Bible is hard to understand, I believe every word. I believe the words have the power to heal and help and save. And even when I don’t understand, I read a bit and imagine myself being wrapped up in God’s word, and I imagine those words helping me to be someone better and different than I am. Dressing up in God’s word, who would ever imagine it had such an effect?
Sometimes with depression, it is hard to concentrate on anything let alone a challenging book like the Bible. But I persevere. On a really bad day, I might open it to the Psalms and read and read and read until one word or phrase pierces through my troubled thoughts and helps me think differently. This has worked for me many times.
We dress for bed, we dress for work, we dress for a party, we dress for swimming. And you know what? I can even dress for depression.
Have I ever told you about my ‘bipolar pajamas’? That’s what my husband used to call them. I had these flannelette pajamas with red and orange and pink hearts, they were quite loud. I wish I had a picture to show you. On a bad day, when I feel like I can’t face the world, I don’t even want to get dressed so I put on my favorite pajamas (which by the way are too hot for sleeping but just right for taking care of myself). You know, just putting on those pj’s was like giving myself permission to hunker down, do nothing and rest and wait until I started to feel like I could face the world again. Sometimes I am in my pajamas by 4 o’clock in the afternoon. And if it helps, that’s ok.
Here I am doing just that, hunkering down in my flannels with my little sweetie to keep me calm.
Whether you are dressing up in God’s word or dressing up in your favorite comfy clothes, it’s good to ‘dress the part’. It’s good to know what you need. It’s good to admit you need help. We all need help. And if dressing up helps, then go for it.
Don’t give up! There is hope for depression! There is hope for whatever you are going through today. Let God dress you up in his unfailing love. And while he does that maybe you could dress up in something comfy that will help you too.
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