God's Giving Me My Purple Back!

As long as I can remember purple has been my color.

As a child I loved it, by teenage years I was positively obsessed. I cannot begin to count how many purple sweaters, blouses and scarves have hung in my closet over the years.

In May of 1992 I walked down the aisle at my wedding to a sea of my best girlfriends, all wearing royal purple. I loved it. The color is rich, majestic, perfect for any occasion and whenever I've worn it, I have felt special.

It's my thing. I don't have many obsessions. I've always loved elephants and I think Jimmy Fallon is the bee's knees and everyone who knows me well, knows my color choice is ALWAYS going to be purple.

Until October came.  Four days in late October I sat and watched my husband of 26 years die. He died of depression. He choose to leave me and our daughter. I will forever search for answers.  During those four days, I lost the color purple. There was a moment and then everything in my world changed and moved and I lost. I lost my husband, whom I adored. I lost my hope, my future and my color. Purple was no longer part of my happy. It had become my sad. I've mourned all my losses from that day...the big and the small.

Purple was lost. Jewelry got put away, clothes given to Good Will, eyeshadow trashed. All the purple - I threw out of my life.  And no one really noticed except my daughter. She did. She noticed every time I chose pink instead of purple, she noticed I never wore purple anything. I couldn't tell her why. I just chalked it up to changes in life.  She NEVER believed me.

And then God stepped in. Three days ago my facebook daily memory popped up. It was a picture of me, a few years back with my purple-streaked hair. I did it for fun, for a Disney trip with friends, but I secretly loved it and would have kept it that way! The picture of those purple streaks made me laugh and I hadn't laughed about purple in a long time.

The next day, I as driving home and admiring the sunset. I noticed something that struck me so much I had to stop. Along with the pink and orange and yellow in the sky...there were purple streaks. Purple!  It was beautiful. I even took a picture for proof of the beauty.  The One who paints the sunrise and sunset was showing off and showing me purple.

Yesterday I walked into the laundry and in the middle of the floor, left behind when my 14 year old did her laundry, was a single purple striped sock.  Purple stripe. The 3rd purple strip in 3 days.

I might not go out and refill my closet with purple clothing, I probably won't paint a wall purple, or buy a purple car. But little by little, I see purple coming back in my world. It's coming back, stripe by stripe.  God's Word tells me that by the stripes of Jesus we are healed.  I believe that covers my salvation and my life and my happiness. Those stripes for me, will now always be purple. The majestic, magnificent, mighty God meeting me in the midst of my storm, flashing stripes of purple, whispering "it will be okay again, you will smile again,you will be happy again. You will love purple again. I am bringing it back to your life."

Don't be surprised to see a purple streak or two in my hair next time you see me. Now you will know why it is there!