A Good T-Shirt
I wasn’t aware of what was going on until well into the afternoon.
Saturday mornings are typically my time to shop and on this particular day, I had oodles of places to visit. As I made my way through aisles and checkout lines, I couldn’t help but notice the number of shoppers that were staring at me. Some of them even began speaking to me.
“I sure needed that word today. Thanks!” the young mom said as she passed me by.
“You got that right,” said a guy as I strolled past him in the sporting goods section.
“No kidding,” exclaimed another woman, nodding at me in agreement. It wasn’t until a certain young woman approached me in the housewares section that things started making sense.
“Awesome T-shirt! Where did you get it?”
I looked down and realized that sure enough, I was wearing my favorite Christian themed T-shirt. It is bright red and, on the front, it has the words, “Pray More, Worry Less” printed on it in huge black lettering. Apparently, I was unwittingly encouraging the body of believers in the mall to get on their knees and pray. I didn’t feel bad about that one bit.
If you were to look in my dresser, you would see that I own a lot of T-shirts. I’m pretty picky about my T-shirts, too. They have to be the right type of fabric – buttery soft, not too stiff and preferably with a V-neck. They have to be a certain size or larger (I like ‘em roomy) and almost all have some kind of slogan on them. Some slogans are cute, many are funny, but most are overtly Christian in nature.
My T-shirts have often told a story about my walk with the Lord. I have one that I bought several months ago when my mother found out her stomach cancer had returned. That green V-necked tee not only reminded me that having faith in God meant believing nothing was impossible with Him, but it also encouraged a friend who was struggling with a failing relationship.
Another T-shirt I own is decorated with a beautiful circle of scriptures reminding me of my identity in Him. I was able to use that shirt to talk to a teen about how God saw her when she was struggling.
My “Pray More, Worry Less” T-shirt? That one comes out of the dresser when I sense the Lord telling me it’s time to pick up my sword of the Spirit and go to battle. Lately it’s been every Saturday. Sometimes Sundays. It even showed up at work on a Friday.
When it comes to talking to people, I’ve never really been a timid person. Ask my parents and they would tell you even as a little child, I could walk up to anyone and strike up a conversation. It makes perfect sense to me that I would have a career in radio. I like talking to people.
Thinking back on that Saturday in the mall, though, what strikes me most is that for all the conversations my T-shirt started, I barely had to say a word. The shirt did the talking, opening doors in people’s hearts before I could say hello. It’s a powerful reminder that sometimes you don’t have to speak to live your life unashamed for Jesus. You do, however, have to show it.