The Power of Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve
Don’t miss our bulk sale on Christmas apparel going on now. CLICK HERE to explore the options. To make it easier for your whole family to match, we’re offering $ 2 off per item when you buy 5 or more.
It’s only as I’ve gotten a little further into adulthood that I’ve realized the power of the words with which we surround ourselves. The lesson was especially pointed in the spring of this year when I took on the challenge of running a half-marathon. I wouldn’t consider myself a runner, but running a half-marathon is an experience I thought about tackling for about a decade and then finally decided to try for it. I didn’t train nearly as much as I had planned to, but I had paid the fee and put the event in my calendar and, one way or another, the day came.
We rode in busses to the top of a canyon where the race would start. The early morning wind blew through the channels between the rocks and many of the runners wore mylar blankets or were wrapped in sweatshirts that they would shed just before the start. Music was blasting, people were stretching and chatting and nearly all beamed their joyful anticipation of what was to come. The excitement was palpable. We were in one big crowd ready to face something we were excited to conquer, together. Only, when the race began, that supportive crowd spread out as the fastest among us ran ahead. I had a goal to run the whole time, but it was a slow run. I quickly fell to the back of the crowd that soon became a few people here and a few people there.
It was a mental game to keep running. It took endurance to push, mile by mile, towards a feat that was unprecedented for me. But unexpected help came in the form of a T-shirt that was worn by a girl who, because she was walking sometimes and running sometimes, would fall behind me for a while and then run ahead of me for a while. So, I saw the message on the back of her shirt again and again as if were new, rather than having it blend into the scenery.
The message said simply, “Jesus Loves You.”
It surprised me how much that little lift—a small reminder of a truth I know, but forgot to think of—helped me through this 13-mile run.
It was a similar surprise to me when I was pregnant with my first baby, nearly due, and the midwives’ office gifted me a big reusable cup that simply said, “You Got This!” I genuinely felt a little better drinking out of that cup as I waited in nervous anticipation for the pains that I could only hope I would recognize as real labor. It was a little vote of confidence, a little reminder that someone was cheering for me. And I appreciated the boost.
Perhaps I’ve only begun to truly value the encouragement of these visible, encouraging messages in adulthood, because I haven’t needed them quite so much before as I need them now.
And so, it was with the gratitude that I felt from those simple messages that I decided this year to design a line of Christmas apparel with words that could bring a happy reminder of the hope of Christmas and remind people why this is a season so truly worth celebrating.
There is truly nothing wrong with wearing a sweater that says “Fa La La” or “Merry and Bright”, but I wanted to find a few phrases that might instead not only direct the mind of the person wearing them towards the Savior’s central importance to Christmas, but also be an invitation to a conversation when others see these shirts and sweatshirts and ask about what they mean to you.
We don’t always get to wear our testimonies on our shirts (or our hearts on our sleeves, if you will), but this time of year provides a unique opportunity to do just that. I know now from the mile 6 struggle of that half marathon, and the mile 9 struggle and the mile 11, the power that seeing the right message on someone else’s shirt can bring to strengthen or lift you at just the right time.
We have three phrases in a variety of designs. In future articles, I will go into more detail about why I chose these phrases and what they mean to me, but for now, explore them for yourself and see what they mean to you.
In particular, take note of the fact that many of these designs are available in sizes for all ages. If your family likes to match at Christmas like mine often does, consider these as a beautiful option to unite your family under the same joyful message. Use these as the tops to your cute pajama pants in stripes or plaids. To make this an even better option, I’m offering a bulk discount that takes $ 2 off per shirt when you buy 5 or more; mix and match, any combination. The discount will come off automatically at check-out. Or you can grab one the cozy sweatshirts that bear the same message of holiday rejoicing and enjoy snuggling up in it all season long.
CLICK HERE to check out these bright, cheerful designs in festive colors and cozy fabrics. The happiest thing about them is the good news they share about the reason we rejoice in the Christmas season. I can’t wait for you to see them for yourself.
