Tears, rips, tighter than you expected.. you feel frustrated. Your expectations are just being thrown up on the folded pile because the mannequin is the only one who could pull those jeggings off. You created an image in your mind of what everything was going to look like, you even prepared your heart for all that money you were going to put toward those jeans because they were too cute to pass up. When it came down to it, it just didn't work out. Regardless of what top you matched with it, or how much you sucked in, it would never fit how you intended it to. With embarrassment and un-satisfaction, you return the size 6 to the sales associate and walk out of the store feeling discouraged. You allowed the numbers to define your value, instead of letting your value rise beyond the arbitrary, size system.

You didn't even take the time to re-evaluate those walls of jeans to find a different size or a looser style, you just left. You didn't even ponder the thought of the lighting in the fitting room, you just blamed yourself for eating those extra curly fries before bed the night before. The problem with fitting rooms isn't what we take inside of them, it's what we take when we leave. While emotionally preparing for the fitting room, the expectations are high, and you look forward to seeing everything fall perfectly, but what happens when the fitting room experience is repeatedly devastating?

We stop shopping.

One of my favorite positions to work while I was at American Eagle was the fitting rooms. I found that about ninety percent of the customers always tried on clothes before buying them, and whenever they didn’t like something, I would fold it and resize it. But, whenever the customer found the perfect outfit, they would then go on with a smile and wait in line to make the purchase. Did you hear that? They waitedbecause the purchase was worth it.

There is something uplifting, confined within those solid white walls with that full-length mirror. What we walk in with is an experience, and often what we walk out with is the outcome. Not always will our outcome be the best choice for us, and instead of holding our head down at the missed sale, we need to look up so we don't miss another opportunity and an even better fit for us.

Working in a fitting room revealed to me that in life doors will open for me and some may slam shut, but that's okay. Find contentment in taking multiple trips to the fitting room, because you'll eventually leave with something that suits you as well as American Eagle denim jeans do; comfortable, classy and completely you.

"Don't let the size scale, add up your value"

{Romans 12:2}