Playing Dress Up

Playing dress up was one of my very favorite things to do as a child. I loved to pretend I was a movie star or sometimes I would be a bride or the mother of my dolls. The dress up clothes didn’t have to be fancy because in my imagination, they were fancy no matter what they looked like. An old lace curtain with holes from years of wear made a perfect veil for my bridal attire. My mother loved hats and she had one or two she allowed me to play with on occasion.

Dressing up as a little girl would usually bring attention from a parent who was close by.

“Oh, how cute you look. Are you going out today?” Mother says to Little Daughter while daughter parades around for Mother to see.

“Yes, I’m going to a tea party with my friend,” Little Daughter replies, “Don’t I look beautiful?”

We all want attention……no, we all crave attention; especially from the ones we love.

My friends and I had a bit of Hollywood in us and we loved to give plays for the neighborhood. Under our maple tree in the back yard was a perfect place for this. The Mothers and Daddies and anyone else in the neighborhood were welcome to sit on our screened in back porch and watch the performance. The cost of tickets was usually a marble, a pretty rock or flower. Our profit came from the lemonade that was sold for two cents a glass. Our mothers footed the bill for the lemonade for the performances. We took turns keeping the pennies at night. I can remember setting and counting those pennies thinking how rich we were going to be in the future.

I guess the need for attention can be passed down from generation to generation because Daughter # 2 was famous for dressing up as were her three daughters. I only recently dismantled the box of dress up attire that was kept in the closet for such an event.

Every little girl likes to pretend. It’s a way of escaping into a place where they can be anything they want. They can play house or bride or be a princess. Most women are probably just grown up little girls who enjoy dressing up for special occasions.

Did you ever stop to think that even as girls get older they like to get together with friends and try on clothes or have make up parties?  And, when a prospective bride goes to choose her wedding dress, she doesn’t go alone. No, she wants her mother, perhaps the groom’s mother, and her bridesmaids to go along to validate how beautiful she will be on that most important day when she walks down the aisle.

We all want attention……no, we all crave attention; especially from the ones we love.

Have you ever wanted God’s attention and felt He wasn’t hearing you? Have you ever prayed and felt God didn’t hear?  We all want God to hear our prayers; to pay attention to us. We don’t have to play dress up or pretend we are someone else for God to hear us. Our God is big enough to hear the prayers of His people whenever and wherever they are. If we are committed to Him, we can rest assured we have his attention.

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hears are fully committed to Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9