I was in the hospital yesterday getting a few tests done. The place was organized and bustling. And, being a people-watcher, I noticed the wide variety of people who had joined me in this busy environment for the morning.
I remember the woman curled up on a very large chair outside the clinic. She looked as though she could fall asleep at any moment. A ways down, an elderly couple were taking care of eachother in the sweetest way. I glanced away, wanting to watch, but not wanting to stare. A business woman had her phone in one hand, her purse in her lap and her sandwich in the other hand. She was multi-tasking.
I endured a series of bloodwork, and was sent on to have a scan of some sort done.
A sweet older lady pulled back a curtain, handed me a robe, and told me I could leave my belongings there.
I put down my purse, and prepared to dress. And, as I removed my carefully chosen turquoise blouse, I remembered how I'd dug through a drawerful of earrings to find the pair that would be the matchy-matchiest. It was a pair I'd bought on the ferry for $2 on discount. I'm thrifty that way.
I pulled on the powder blue robe I'd been handed. Fiddled with the tie strings a bit. Did my best to reduce the amount of bare-naked skin that could be visible. Images of sitcom robe mishaps kept me motivated. I was done. I checked and re-checked. Yep. I was covered. And, this blue was not my colour.
I left my things in a neat pile. You know, in case anyone peered in. I didn't want them to think I was messy individual. (Which I am.)
Deep breath in and I pulled back the curtain and looked across the room to find a place to sit. I nestled in on a row with two other women. We were wearing the same designer. And as I sat back and picked up the Maclean's magazine beside me I had a realization.
Hospital robes are an equalizer.
There we sat, three different women. Three different walks of life. The lovely lady next to me had a beautiful British accent. Gentle eyes, and an undying love for elephants. The lady next to her had limped in. And, there we all sat. Robed in blue. Waiting. I didn't know who was rich or poor. Healthiest. Dying. Important. Lonely. Full of life. I didn't know whose family would be supportive, and who would go home alone. All I knew is that we were three ladies at the mercy of our broken bodies, robed in a light-blue cotton shroud, preparing for a test. A test whose results would mean SOMETHING.
And then I pretended to flip through the magazine as she explained the horrors of the abuse of animals. I was shocked at the information she was telling me. How could people do this?
Sin.
Sin and ugliness. That's why.
I thought about the gospel. Sin, brokenness, failure, hardship. I remember that at one point I sat broken, robed in our my failure. I was trying so hard to conceal my sinful nakedness. Hoping I'd tied things up just right.
And I thought about that point in my life when I faced it. I had had enough. I had to deal with it. My mortality. My sin. My God.
The Great Physician. I took it to Him. And, He saw right through me. He called it what it was. I acknowledged that he was right to call it sin. And, many many years ago, and even today and tomorrow he's cleansed and purified me. And the important parts of me are whole again. Unbroken, unstained, unashamed. Nothing to hide. And since He is for me, I cannot be afraid.
And, now I enjoy a fellowship with believers. People who too, at one point sat, robed in sin, overcome by their personal hell. People who lifted their eyes and received in them the healing they desperately needed. The kind of healing only God can do.
We have all been equalized by sin, yes. And, we have all been equalized by Grace.
Still flipping pages, my name was called. And, I followed the young man to the designated room. And within minutes, I was scanned and dressed again.
Derek found me, and we waited for the last appointment as we shared a coffee in the cafe.
I was busy people-watching again. Tall, short, busy, tired. Professionals. Dudes. Elegant. Young. Old.
And then the British lady walked past. I smiled. She nodded.
We were dressed in our street clothes again. She looked lovely. I matched my earrings to my blouse.
We are equal. We live in bodies that betray us. We privately deal with sin that divides us.
And we all have access to that Grace that can save us from ourselves.
If we would just lay down our robe of sin. And take on His robes of righteousness.
"I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness..." Isaiah 61:10
"There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28
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