Recently, I was thinking about whether we should be striving to find where we “fit.” This came to mind as I thought about how certain items can be manipulated to fit by bending or cutting. Unfortunately, this has been the very problem many of us have faced—changing ourselves to fit in spaces which really do not accommodate who we really are.
“Off-the-rack” clothing then came to mind. This type of clothing is defined in the dictionary as clothes “not made to specific or individual requirements; ready-made.” The Lanieri Italia website describes them as garments which are:
“sold ready-made, i.e in a form and style determined by the designer who has worked with standard sizes. Each suit is made according to a generic size and pre-established model, divided by various sizes, and usually manufactured by machines. Very few manufacturers produce so-called clothes off the rack (“on the shelf”) by hand or with sewing machines.” (Emphasis added.)
I am sure most of us, at some point, have bought clothes off the rack. They may not have fit perfectly--a little long here, a little tight there—but we MADE it work.
Waaaaaay on the other side of the clothing spectrum, I discovered what is known as the men’s “Bespoke” suit. Here is its description on the JeffreyScott.com website:
"Bespoke suits are the most expensive because they require the most expertise and hand construction. Bespoke is a British word which means “spoken for.” These suits may have more than 1,000 hand stitches just in the lapel. A bespoke suit is fitted so that it hugs the body and never has to be pressed. They are considered the high-end of the suit world.
Tailors in the bespoke world have decades of experience. They create a new pattern every single time they make a suit. The expert would never reuse or even revise a previous pattern. The point of a bespoke suit is that it is original and adapts to the specific nuances of the person’s body. The tailor considers everything from the arch of the back and shape of the leg to traditional measurements."
The use of these metaphors is to point to the facts that according to Psalm 139:1-18, God, the Creator, the Tailor of all tailors, took His time and intricately formed you. He designed and fitted you for the purpose He has for your life. He knows EVERYTHING about you. He knows every measurement, every curve, every bulge, every muscle. He knows your gifts, abilities, intellect, personality, and passions because He gave them to you. He knows your flaws and struggles, and yet, He uses it all to fulfill His wonderful plan.
You are not off the rack, standard, generic, or machine made. You are the Bespoke suit. You are spoken for. You were HAND-made for a purpose. You are an original. Consequently, you are VALUABLE, regardless of what anyone thinks about you or your purpose. You were “fitted” for something special.
Don’t just get in where you think you can manipulate yourself to fit in. And don’t just steal away to a corner somewhere and hide because you cannot see what you have to offer or the treasure deposited within you. Discover who God designed you to be and what He purposed you to do. Even if what you must do is difficult or does not lead to fame and fortune, you will experience fulfillment in knowing you were made for THIS!
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