“Why don’t you wear that lovely ewelry/that dress/those shoes more often?

“Oh, it’s too good to wear everyday. I only save it for special occasions.”

“So, when was the last time you wore it?”

“Oh, it’s been so long, I can’t remember…”

Does this conversation sound familiar? It sure does to me. I’ve heard it again and again, spoken between me, sometimes, and another patient, or overheard in a doctor’s waiting room. Rarely, if ever, do we consciously think of wearing something “good” for something like a medical appointment. It seems so incongruous, so out of place.

Yet, given the amount of time we spend going from doctor to test to doctor and back again, the time that we have for “special occasions” is abbreviated at best, and often, for long stretches, nonexistent. So, we leave our “best” in a drawer or closet, gathering dust but not memories. And soon, we also leave our best smile, our best kind word, our best attitude behind, too.

What’s left?

Well, not exactly our best.

As I wrote in my previous post,”this is the day the Lord has made.” This day, this specific day.  And given it is a day that Our Father in Heaven has gifted us with, think of the difference it would make if we wore our best.

What if we dusted off our best dress, our best smile? What if we used our kindest vocabulary and took along (and used) our most patient attitude?

The depths of the heart are precious reservoirs of love and care and grace. By putting on our best, whenever we face the world, whether at a doc’s office or elsewhere, we put that reservoir to use – and we help make this day better, more blessed, for others, too.

Peace and joy,

Maureen