Gu Yeon-hui
I tend to prefer clothes that don’t draw attention—modest, loose-fitting, and long enough to cover the hips. The reason? Because they’re comfortable. Maybe that’s why I’m hesitant to try new styles.
An acquaintance of mine, who majored in fine arts, has been running a clothing store for nearly 30 years. She usually recommends outfits to customers based on their body shapes and personal styles. One day, while I was sitting at her shop, a customer walked in. My friend suggested a few outfits, and the woman tried them on. Even to someone like me, with little fashion sense, the clothes she changed into looked far more flattering than the ones she had on when she entered the store. But despite trying on several options, she couldn’t bring herself to change her style and ended up choosing something very similar to what she had originally worn. As I watched her sort through the outfits, asking things like whether they suited her, if they were comfortable, or if they looked okay, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Watching the customer felt like looking at a reflection of myself. Whenever store owners recommended something that they thought might look good on me, or when friends suggested styles that suited me, I would always stick to my usual preferences, saying, “This is too short,” “The colors are too bold,” or “These pants are too tight, and those are too baggy.” Seeing someone just like me, I could imagine how the shop owners must have felt. While there’s nothing wrong with sticking to your preferences, the truth is, clothes recommended by someone with a good eye often look much better. So I decided to take their advice—not a dramatic makeover, but I did change up my style a little. And the result? A success. People said it suited me well.
Then, I found myself thinking of the day we will be clothed in the glorious garments of heaven. Our Heavenly Mother—the Master of spiritual creation—will transform us, now dressed in the garments of flesh, into radiant beings in angelic robes. She reminds us time and again that those who will enter the kingdom of heaven are most beautiful when clothed in humility, unity, gratitude, joy, sacrifice, kindness, love, praise for our brothers and sisters, and the hope for heaven. Still, I wonder if I’ve been resisting change, hiding behind excuses such as, “I’m comfortable as I am,” “It feels awkward,” “I might stand out,” or “It’s just too much trouble.” If I’ve been wrapped in the comfortable clothes of laziness, the garments stained by arrogance, or the worn-out outfits of fading faith, then it’s time to take them off. As God’s daughter, a heavenly princess, I want to dress each day in the beautiful spiritual garments of diligence, humility, love, courage, hope, joy, sacrifice, and unity.
Even now, our Heavenly Mother is clothing me with the garments that suits me best. Though they may feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable at times, I want to set aside my own thoughts and live each day wearing the beautiful garments of Her teachings. Oh, I can almost hear the angels above saying, “As expected, the clothes Mother chose are the most beautiful and the most fitting of all.”