Do These Pants Make My Hips Look Big? - Sharon Jaynes

I went hunting in a clothing consignment store—people watching more that actually clothes shopping. I gathered a few possibilities and then stood in line to try them on.

A group of friends occupied the three dressing rooms with piles and piles of clothes. It was quite a parade as the girls popped in and out of the cubbies to model their finds. All I needed was a bag of popcorn as I settled in for the show.

At one point, a gal came out in skin tight, black shiny pants that were at least two sizes too small, a couple inches too short, and about to burst at the seams.

“Do these pants make my hips look big?” she asked her friend.

“What hips?” her friend exclaimed. “Girl, you’re lookin’ good.”

She lied.

Oh my.

My mind raced back to a time when I was with a different sort of friend. On this particular day,  I met her for lunch wearing a pink sweater with fuzzy pink flamingos and randomly placed sequins. My friend took one look at me and said, “Girl, you need to take that sweater off and never wear it again. That does not look good on you!”

We had a good laugh…but I didn’t wear the flamingos again.

So which sort of friend do I really want? Honestly? One that always tells me what I want to hear, or one that loves me enough to tell me what I need to hear.

We all need friends, just a few, who will tell us the truth. Friends who will say, “That does not look good on you.” And I’m not just talking about pink sweaters with fuzzy pink flamingos or too tight, shiny black pants that make our hips look big.

I’m talking about what we wear on our hearts and in our souls. We all need friends, just a few, who will have the guts to say:

That anger does not look good on you.

That bitterness does not look good on you.

That resentment does not look good on you.

That jealousy does not look good on you.

That self-pity does not look good on you.

That self-condemnation does not look good on you.

That grumbling and complaining does not look good on you.

We all need friends, just a few, who will tell us the truth because they love us too much not to.

But just a few.

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 NLT

Do you have a friend who you trust enough to tell you when something doesn’t look good on you…or in you? One that you won’t get mad at if she does?  If so, you’re truly blessed.

And I’d like to bless you both! Leave a comment with her name. I’ll randomly pick one commenter and send two Starbuck’s gift cards—one for the winner and one for her friend.

Click on the book cover to watch the video trailer for How Jesus Broke the Rules to Set You Free. Throughout the month of October, you’ll get lots of free perks when you send in a copy of your receipt from your favorite bookstore. The more copies you buy, the more free gifts you receive.