Farewell "Jesus Pants" - Part III of the "Cursed Pants"

One of my favorite series of posts are on my Jesus Pants - a pair of khaki pants that seem to attract stains.  In my first story about them, I referred to them as the "cursed pants" - a post that talked about the cycle of sin and forgiveness.  Then my perspective changed - "cursed" is too harsh a word for these amazing pants - they are Jesus Pants!  They accept the stains to keep other clothes from being ruined! :)


Unfortunately... a couple of weeks ago, the Jesus Pants met their end... but God is not without a sense of humor, that's for sure...!!


I had worn my Jesus pants on a date with my husband.  We went to Qdoba for lunch and were stopping by the grocery store after (I know, I know... when you've been married 15 years, a kid-free grocery store visit IS a date!! - LOL!).  We'd been all through the deli aisles, the bakery area, the fruit and veggies, and the pasta/Mexican aisles when I zipped ahead of David (who had the cart) to skirt between two older ladies who were clogging up an aisle.


When David caught up to me, he could barely speak, he was laughing so hard!  I was backed up against a display as he leaned down and told me that my pants had a H U G E rip across the backside!!!


Apparently all of those cycles of bleach had finally worn them out and my favorite pants how had a 7" tear at the very top of my thigh in the back!  I had been flashing the world for several aisles already!!!


Fortunately, I still had my "winter" purse - a bigger messenger bag style so I shifted the bag to hide my behind, and slowly walked out to the car to wait.  When I got there, I could tell this tear was big -- mainly because I could feel the seat of the car on my upper leg!!


God has a great sense of humor.  Rather than a quiet end to these great pants, they got a BIG send-off!!  I hope He was laughing in Heaven -- not at my expense, of course -- but at the general hilarity of the situation.  The pants are gone - but its stories will not be forgotten!


Take the time to find humor in the world around your world.  Our God is the One who created the giraffe (with a tongue long-enough to clean out it's own ears), the annoying mosquito, the freaky naked mole rat, and the horned frog.  This is a God who obviously likes jokes!


:) Mags

God and Pants... Part 3

Considering I wrote two different posts on my cursed pants / Jesus pants, it would stand to reason that I would take a moment to write about another pair of pants... The Traveling Pants. :)

In 2001, Ann Brashares wrote The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants. What a cute story!! Four girls stumble upon a pair of well-loved blue jeans in a thrift store - and amazingly enough it fits all of them perfectly: the tall athlete, the curvy tempermental, the willowy beauty, and the small-boned rebel. That it fits all of their vastly different heights and frames AND makes them feel beautiful is no less than a miracle.

In the premier novel and the 3 books that follow, the girls share the pants each summer - mailing them back and forth across the places where they visit. From summer camps to visits with relatives... from digs in Turkey to movie internships, the girls use the pants to keep in touch with each other and keep their friendship connected. And the pants are there through all of their summer experiences: the divorce and remarrying (to other people) of Carmen' s parents, Lena's first love... and loss, Bridget's coping from mistakes she made with her boyfriend, Tibby's grief at the death of her friend, Bailey, plus various other family, social, or school issues. The pants are a constant comfort to each of them.

In the final book, the pants are lost - mirroring the feelings of loss the girls are going though as their individual lives push them farther and farther apart from each other. However, the girls come to realize that the pants were only a symbol of their everlasting friendship, and that the jeans, specifically, didn't have to be physcially present for their friendship to endure.

Now think of our Lord... a one-size-fits-all God who is with us through our hard times and our good times. He's with us when we succeed and when we make mistakes. He will comfort us when we are hurt and celebrate with us when we are happy.

When you meet other Christians, you have something instantly in common. No matter your size or weight or style, your faith links you together.

When Jesus died on the cross, the apostles were "lost" at first. How could they go on? How could their Lord continue if he had been crucified? But like the traveling pants, Jesus lived on in the hearts and minds of those who believed in Him. Tibby, Carmen, Bridget, and Lena discovered that they didn't need the actual pair of pants to remain best friends - even as miles and miles might physically separate them. Likewise, we don't need the physical body of Jesus to be there for us to be covered by His love.

For the girls, believing in the power of the pants was enough.

For Christians, believing in Jesus is a power in and of itself.

If you were to re-read this series of books with the parallel of God & Pants in your mind as you read, I think you'll look at this "humorous, light, fluffy, summer read" in a whole new way. But that's the fun of this blog... finding God in everyday, ordinary places... and what's more "ordinary" than a novel?! :)

If you'd like to read Parts 1 and 2 of God & Pants, follow these links:
Part I "I Found God In Some Cursed Pants"
Part 2 "Not Cursed After All... They're Jesus Pants!"