So I headed to the mall last weekend with the HMF to pick out a belated birthday present for my sister......and to do a little shopping for myself. My wardrobe has been looking a little peaked lately, and with a pending Valentine's dinner that night, I was also on the hunt for some good deals.
Of course I tried all the grown-up places first (Nordstrom's, Banana Republic, Arden B., etc) but after hour three I could no longer resist that cotton candy of commerce, the bubble gum of bargains - oh yes you know you love to shop there, too - Forever 21.
I LOVE this store. You can find all sorts of interesting, trendy junk in there for waay cheap. Ok so yes, you might have to re-fasten a button or two, but as their inventory falls directly into the category my college roommate and I dubbed "disposable clothing", it doesn't much matter. When you pay 4.99 for a pair of shoes, are you really that surprised when the heel breaks off?
Anyway, their fashion ranges from hippy to hip, silky to sheer, and everywhere in between. The particular store I was in had a dirth of "prairie-skirts-come-lingerie" (ie paisley with black lace at the end?) in stock. It was ridiculously busy - and ridiculously fun.
Of course, I did find a beautiful sleeveless coral blouse for that evening (sans the HMF; I mercifully let him wander off) and took it home. I wore it that night, was fabulous and then went home. End of story, right?
Later that weekend, the HMF picked up the plastic "Forever 21" shopping bag to recycle, and asked me what John 3:16 was.
"It's a bible verse," I said, distractedly watching the TV. "For God so loved the world he gave his only son that we may be saved through him..." trailing off, thinking my mom would be proud of me that Sunday school atleast made an imprint.
"Why is it on this shopping bag?" he laughed, wiggling the obnoxious yellow bag under my nose.
And he was right. Right there on the bottom of the bag, in small letters - yet still visible - were the words "John 3:16". That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing flashy. In fact, if you don't look for it, you probably wouldn't notice. I've been shopping there for about three years and had never looked. We thought this was more than a litte bizarre, seeing as I was unaware that a clothing store that sold see-through blouses was also in the business of Jesus.
I've been pondering this post for a few days, but things have been a bit hectic on my end so I haven't had time to google it until tonight. I lifted this from Wikipedia:
As much as the stores look unkempt and messy, with bargains a handful cheaper than high-end brand names, the stores are always stocked with consumers and new clothes ready for the steals.
The store's trademark teal shopping bags (um, my bag was yellow? guess wiki is not _always_ right) have the words John 3:16 printed on the bottom, a reflection of the owners' Christian faith.[4]
Huh. Again I say, I find it hard to see the link between lascivious lingerie, plastic shoes, transparant dresses and God's love. But whatever, I've come up with my own interpretation:
Obviously this means God wants me to shop there.
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