The Use of Vanity

So, I recently had a really cool opportunity. The church I frequent held an event for Thanksgiving where they give gift bags to families with food insecurity to give them a Thanksgiving dinner. The bags were filled with things like a stuffing mix, canned vegetables, and a gift card for fresh itemsWhen they handed out the bags, they also had a carnival for the kiddos with games, a bouncy castle, food, face painting, all that good stuff. IT was amazing and it warmed my heart to see people who don't have much get shown a little love. I really hope that they were able to help create a nice holiday.

That's where I come in. When I heard they were looking for volunteers, a little voice in the back of my head pointed out that I have an Ariel costume. In my closet. That the kids would potentially love. I contacted the person organizing the event and she was all over it. Hey, I already went to all of the work of building the costume, I might as well use it.

The event was this last Saturday and it was amazing. The kids went gaga and I loved it. I got to see their faces light up and gave many hugs. Some of the parents were even more excited than the kids. Some of them tried to throw me off by asking tough questions, and I didn't break character once. I was so glad that I could give people that experience, that special memory. It gave me an odd thought, but one that is worth consideration.

My vanity got me here.

Vanity is supposed to be a bad thing, right? But I would never have been able to do this without it. When I say "vanity," I mean the idea of caring about appearance and things that don't really matter. I love interesting clothes, trying out different makeup, and creating a signature "look". I'm just as comfortable leaving the house in sweatpants without makeup, fashion is just something that I enjoy.

Now I know that "vanity" literally means useless, but I was just able to make it useful. I was able to use my love of fashion and crafting to give a great experience to children and adults. I'm not sure how much lasting impact I had, but If I at least made one kid's day, that's enough for me.

This experience got me thinking about how anything can be useful. Even actual uselessness or "vanity." If I didn't care about clothes or makeup, I never would have had the patience to build an entire Ariel cosplay. If I wasn't willing to put a lot of effort into every little detail from picking the EXACT wig color I wanted to the layering of the petticoats, it wouldn't have had the impact of looking like I had just stepped off the movie screen. If I didn't have a sea of random Disney knowledge sloshing around in my brain, I wouldn't have been able to stay in character while being interrogated by the more astute young'uns. Did something as inconsequential as this outfit open a door to show some love to people?


I had several children explain to me that you use a BRUSH on your hair, not a fork

The takeaway from all of this is that when God says he can use anything, He really means anything. People often take that idea to mean God can use flaws and negative traits, but it is worth noting that God can use traits that aren't really morally positive or negative. I love cosplay, and I'm so grateful that it has given me opportunities to help other people in some small way. I know that I was supposed to be there on Saturday. Even if I never find out the exact reason, I'm glad my silly little hobby could be of use. I'm going to try and keep my eyes open for more chances to use my talents, cosplay and otherwise, in unique ways. Even if it seems like something silly, or even truly useless and vain, there's always a chance it can be used for good.