Does Lilly Pulitzer at Target really mean that much to you?

I had to give a little reflection on this debacle with Lilly Pulitzer at Target yesterday…#LillyforTarget. Wow, just wow.  I mean the woman died two years ago and you’d think everyone who rushed the stores just got access to her own personal closet and a ticket to tea with her in heaven. 

Before I say anything more I’m not hating on Lilly Pulitzer. I’ve loved Lilly Pulitzer in my day. It’s a little overly preppy for me now, but I have loved wearing it when I was a kid and in recent years. So I’m not hating on it. But I’m utterly mystified by the obsession with it that took place yesterday in Targets all across the country. 

When I saw the empty racks at our store (and I wasn’t even going to look for it), all I could think about was how strong of a statement it made about our culture.

We are a society completely focused on consuming things, and the fact that the line was out the door before they opened and the racks are empty shows just how far we’ll go to get what we want.

In fact, it makes me kinda sad because I think so many people don’t even realize that their intense focus on gaining a pink and green pattern skirt is more of an idol than a simple material thing.

What’s funny is our church service before we arrived was all about the second commandment about not having any other gods before our God and here we stand looking at the god of material things. Evidence that the enemy is still alive and well, working as hard as he can to keep us from believing that there is a God who loves us more than the clothes we want that we think will make us happy.

I cannot believe some of the stuff I read in this Buzz Feed Article. The anger in the women on one end and the gloating on the other was sickening. I can’t believe how caught up so many of us are in it! And we wonder why Social Media makes us envious of what other people have! HELLO! Here’s our evidence! One chick even referred to it as the Hunger Games of Lilly. Insane in the membrane.

What is more crazy to me is – how have so many of us missed this? It got me more more fired up than ever to teach women about how much more rewarding it is to have a relationship with God than consume a piece of Lilly clothing. It is not worth all the energy women have put towards it!

If you are on either end of the spectrum – angry cause you didn’t get any – or gloating because you did – think about it. It’s the perfect time to call our your idol of cute clothing and take a step back to realize – this is stupid. Why am I doing this? Don’t beat yourself about it. Instead, be gentle on yourself realizing that maybe you’ve become a little too obsessed, that maybe there is more to life, more to YOU, more to what God wants for you than this. 

This event was an extreme example of just how obsessed we are with things and with wanting what other people have. Material things and getting them are just ONE thing that we’ve let become a god in our lives. Don’t you think it’s time we step back and realize that God wants to be first in our lives, not have a material thing be that?

I am no saint by the way. I often say it’s a blessing I live in South Bend because I can’t shop for things I would buy that I can’t afford. My Mom says she couldn’t live here because there isn’t a Nordstrom. I’m actually grateful there isn’t, because I’d rather not be spending money I don’t have on things that don’t matter. I can drive an hour to Chicago and go shopping if I need to, but even then I get triggered with the desire for overconsumption of things!

This doesn’t mean I never or don’t like to shop, but I am supremely aware of my innate desire to buy things, with my addictive behavior intact. It is NOT easy to tame it, but one big way? Is not getting involved in crazy sales like this. So instead I stand back and think how grateful I am that there is no material thing I have a desire to run towards like that. It is only GOD I want to run to like that. 

So, in the next few days, I dare you to think about what consumes you, what’s become an idol for you. Tomorrow I’ll talk about food. Wednesday I’ll talk in my video about how I believe feelings of inadequacy and failure are at the root of it, Thursday we’ll talk about the consequences it can have and Friday I’ll fill you up with just how much MORE God wants for us than these false idols.

Right now – let this be an inspiration for you to take a look at where your priorities are and realize that God’s got more for you than this!!

Keep it real my friends.