Hey friends,

It’s been a while since I’ve done an impromptu, unplanned, and unedited blog post but I had a recent experience with a little black dress that was too much to share in a social media post.

Have you ever heard of Stitch Fix? It’s a service where you can get sent a box of clothes that are picked out by a stylist depending on the preferences you choose in the app. I recently received a “fix” and one of the items was a little black dress. I will be honest, I tried the dress on and immediately thought “This is going back!”. It’s a beautiful dress but I was immediately drawn to how it didn’t cover up my muffin top. But, I posted a picture in my instastories in the dress, and almost all of my friends said: “keep the dress!”. I trusted my friends’ advice and kept the dress secretly thinking “Ok, but let’s get rid of this muffin top before I wear it”. 

Fast forward to one week later and I had a wedding to attend. I hadn’t thought at all about what to wear to the wedding. I looked through my closet and saw nothing I loved. I saw the little black dress hanging in the corner and immediately felt the Lord say “wear the black dress“. To which I immediately whispered back “Umm, have you noticed I haven’t lost the muffin top yet?” Plus, I was a little worried that this particular black dress would be overdressing to a wedding. And, as any female knows, walking in overdressed is both awkward and humiliating.

I continued to search for something to wear with no luck. Again, God whispered, “wear the black dress“. Ugh, I already told you all my reasons why I can’t wear that dress!  Then it hit me, God is trying to teach me it’s actually not about the dress, rather, it’s about what he is doing in my heart.

I was obedient and I wore the little black dress. And guess what, I got many compliments on that little black dress. Here are the simple truths God taught me about wearing the little black dress:

WEAR IT

Life is too short to worry about muffin tops (or fill in the blanks other body parts). I have spoken on this very topic and the truth is that the enemy of our soul wants us so focused on our body that we are looking down at it rather than up to God and following his voice and call on our life. It’s not often I get a chance to dress up with my husband and I am so thankful I took advantage of it and wore my little black dress.

SEE IT

We see our flaws more than others see them. Want to know why all my friends told me to keep the dress? Because their eye wasn’t drawn to my mid-section. No, their eyes were drawn to the good, to the beautiful scallop neck and cold shoulder look (I can confess my shoulders are a good feature of mine so let’s embrace those strengths with confidence!)

OWN IT

Don’t worry about overdressing in life, both physically and spiritually. How many of us shrink back on a daily basis to make others feel big? No one is ever inspired by us shrinking. I would always choose to be “overdressed” and stick out rather than play it small and blend in with the crowd. We were made for more, my friends.

I hope my experience with the little black dress will inspire you to throw caution to the wind, stop focusing on your flaws and rise up, press on, and finish strong.

You are bold, brave and beautiful. Our world needs you to be the best version of yourself.

In it with you,

Rachael Joy

P.S. Would you like a $25 credit to try a Stitch Fix box? You can go here to grab it. This is not an affiliate link but I do receive a referral credit should you choose to sign-up. And, no, this post was not simply to share that link but just thought I would share the love. Be sure to request to have them include a fun item, like a little black dress, in your fix. 😉

P.P.S. I am aware this post has the ability to trigger thoughts in you around comparison and possibly thinking I’m crazy for thinking any of these thoughts about myself. When those thoughts arise, before you message or email me, take them to the Lord. Ask him if there is anything in your own heart he would like to first deal with when it comes to judging yourself too harshly. I have done that with this situation and he has already reminded me of my true worth and identity. It’s a battle we must be aware of daily.