This morning at the bus stop I walked up with Em and overheard two adorable little 10-year-old 5th grade girls having a discussion about hair. One of them said “You’re going back to the 80’s!” I couldn’t help myself but laugh right out loud…how can you go back to somewhere you’ve never been? I burst out laughing “and just how do you know what the 80’s were like?” Her response…”Well…something called the internet…and my mom!” she fired back. I just giggled thinking that you just can’t understand (arguably) the biggest fashion blunder of a decade…unless you’ve been there.
Now…those who did experience the 80’s and were one of the few who actually looked good in neon biker shorts and acid wash jeans complete with zippers on the back topped off with denim bows may disagree with me but I am just so over it! I can do leggings and skinny jeans but the latest reoccurring trends of floral denim just makes my skin crawl. There are some mistakes that just shouldn’t be repeated no matter how they morph into modernization.
Walking back to the house I couldn’t help but think of how every 20 years or so history repeats itself…fashion-wise that is. In the early 90’s I took my first stab at the 70’s with bell-sleeve shirts and my aunts raked me over the coals. I didn’t care…but as much as I love studying history and fashion…I would never have thought to pretend I knew what it was like to actually grow up in that decade. Kids these days have so much more at their disposal. They…and not that I condone this…can watch a Madonna video on their iPod in an instant from the 1980’s summing up an entire decade in their minds. Nevermind Ronald Reagan the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Madonna…the material girl…represents the 80’s to them. Does that sad recap through pop culture really take the place of actually being there? I should say not!
In studying books like Jeremiah I look at the stories in the Bible and while I’ve learned so much from them when it comes down to it I am so glad God’s plan for me was to be a 21st Century mom and wife saved by grace by the blood of Jesus. As hard as I try to relate to the Jews in the Old Testament and put myself in their shoes…or sandals I suppose…the more I study the more confused I seem to be. I just can’t fathom not growing up in the 1980’s with some questionable fashion knowing…and believing…that Jesus came and died for me on the cross and raised again on the 3rd day. He’s alive…He’s my Savior. That is one part of history that will never be repeated. The battle has already been won. The sad part is the unbelief of Him as Messiah in today’s society is repeating itself just as it did when He walked this earth 2,000 years ago. He’s coming back again and that day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
As much as I don’t ever want to be reminded of floral, high-waisted mom jeans all the more I don’t want the history of unbelief to repeat itself. In our culture so many things replace the Lord our God in our hearts and minds. After all, idols aren’t just wooden or metal statues we bow to…they are anything and everything…technology, money, stuff, status…that take 1st place in our hearts and minds…where God should be. Let us learn from the mistakes made in history…not just of fashion…but of things that really matter and keep the greatest commandment loving the Lord our God with all of our our hearts, souls and minds.
Wonders of HIS Love 