No one kicked me out

I was pretty proud of myself yesterday morning. I got dressed for church (with accessories, even -- which is a big deal for me), prepped my piano binder, made avocado toast for myself and our 6-year old, and actually got out the door on time.

Winning.

I rode calmly to church with the family because I already finished doing my makeup, and we hit almost all green lights. 

We pulled into the parking lot 5 minutes before the meeting started, and as I bent over to pick up my bag I noticed a bright red stain right on the midsection of my white shirt (still have no idea what the stain was from). 

It was too high to hike my skirt up to cover without looking like a 90-year old granny (yep, I tried). When I tried pulling my shirt down low enough to make it possible to hide, it made the cut of my shirt so low that I would be giving a more exciting show than I would have with the stain. I wasn't wearing a jacket or anything that could drive attention away from it, so I accepted the imperfection and walked in with my head held high. 

You know what happened? 

Nothing. 

No one pointed, no one laughed, no one whispered to each other about it (that I know of), no one kicked me out for showing up to church with a stain on my shirt. In fact, I'm pretty sure no one even noticed. 

We are strongly aware of our own stains and flaws, and those can keep us from fully enjoying the places we go. But what we don't see is that everyone around us is dealing with their own stains and flaws, and there's room for every single one of us -- imperfections and all. 

This was a great exercise in self-worth and belonging. I might just have to show up in stained clothes every week. ;)