The LulaRoe Scandal

I am a lazy fashionista...which I think makes me the opposite of a fashionista...but whatever. I've carried extra weight since way before I could blame it on having children and to be honest, shopping in stores or at the mall over the last few years has been almost non-existent. I just really can find 100 things I would rather do instead. In fact, my most frequent answer when someone asks me where I bought such and such shirt or dress is....wait for it...Amazon. Really??? yes....really.

Until earlier this year...when I started seeing these LulaRoe posts all over Facebook. Have you heard about these buttery soft leggings and blouses and dresses??? I'm pretty sure I was late coming to the party. So a friend was having a Facebook party and invited me...and then I got connected with a dealer consultant that was a sweet as she could be....and then a friend from church started connecting me with people that were having sales...and then I saw a popup party on Davis Street and whipped my car around in such a fashion that would have made the Dukes of Hazard honk their Dixie horn. Packages were arriving at an alarming rate....one or two a week for several weeks in a row...and since I've never been much of a clothes shopper....Bruce was supportive...yet surprised by my compulsive behavior.

It was one night about 8 o'clock that I realized things had gotten out of hand....I was watching a 2 hour live feed on leggings. LEGGINGS!!!! What in the world!!! And although there's nothing wrong specifically with shopping or watching TV or a buttery soft legging extravaganza...it hit me.....I was out of control.

There had been signs...conversations at school filled with talk of these leggings...the conversion of friends who had joined the legging lifestyle...the weeks that went by waiting for the mail lady to deliver the next order, my denial of the scandal of the ripped Lularoe leggings and friends sending me  memes mocking my apparent obsession.

But that night...on the couch with my phone in hand, eating up our unlimited data plan, I was struck with the thought of all I could be doing. The rest I could be giving my body, the planning I could be doing for the next day, the conversations I could be having with my family, the books I could be reading...and the fellowship I was not engaging in because of this crazy legging obsession....sheesh!

And maybe it's not leggings for you..but we all have things we are obsessed with...even good things...things that occupy more time than we ever thought they would or that we would allow. Things that are hard to step away from because something in us can justify our reasons for the obsession. But it's clear, when we step away for just a minute...we have a problem. No, we might not need professional counseling (yet) but we know in our hearts that God isn't pleased with our time management system.

Recently I reacquainted myself with this verse in Ephesians 5:16: Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. I'm pretty sure I'm preaching to the choir when I say the world is evil...and even though there are a thousand things on our to do lists, we are to make the most of every moment. In fact, this whole passage in Ephesians calls us to be wise and pay attention so we know how to live. We are to invest our time in holy things...things that build up, things that last, eternal things, Biblical things...Why??? Because the world we live in screams for us to invest in temporal, short lived success and enjoyment. The world/enemy wants us to be fully invested in anything that doesn't draw us closer to Christ. Think about the things that take up your time....family, sports, work, church, friends, fitness, music....any of these things can be used to satisfy us temporarily. Even good things. These things will fade instantaneously when Christ returns...if not before.

Listen, I love LulaRoe....and my leggings....so buttery and soft...but the enemy can use something as innocent as leggings to distract us from the most important things. The better things...the redeeming things. So buy your leggings, shop your malls....but in the end, keep things prioritized..don't let your leggings run your life! Redeem the time.

That's the story I tell....

Gina

Disclaimer- No LulaRoe Leggings were harmed in the writing of this story.