I’m a unicorn. I possess a quality no one else can replicate. I’m a grandmother to a reindeer, a few superheroes, a preschool-aged policeman, a former four-year-old physician, a pioneer woman, a hippie, and multiple Disney princesses. Yes, I am a unicorn.

My grandpeople are slowly outgrowing it, but each one has enjoyed or is currently enjoying a season of playing “dress-up.” A shower cap turned surgical cap transforms Janie into a serious, skilled veterinary surgeon who is about to operate on an injured stuffed animal. Eleanor has matured beyond her Wonder Woman days, but woe to the villain who heard the “click, click” of her pink heels running down the hardwood floor toward him, her lasso of truth in hand. It’s not a stretch to see Everly bring Laura Ingalls Wilder to life with her love of learning, her caring heart, and her lovely bonnet protecting her from the prairie sun. Oddly enough, Jackson becomes not only a rule-enforcer, but a rule-follower when he slips into his navy policeman jacket and formal officer’s cap. Tie-dye and peace signs turn sweet, silly Lucy into a groovy flower child who’s shown up 50 years too late.

It doesn’t take much. A few props, and each child becomes a different person. Imagination takes over. A British accent or a Southern drawl kicks in. A ferocious growl or a meek meow can be heard coming from the playroom. The princess saunters down the hallway in her recycled drapes and paper crown. The farmer dons overalls and a plaid shirt, straw hat in hand as she surveys the pretend countryside. Class is in session as the teacher with her grandmother’s old lens-less glasses assembles her siblings around the cardboard boxes turned into makeshift desks.

A kiddo slips into a costume and takes on a new identity. An ordinary person submits to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and is transformed into a completely different being. A “mere mortal” is wrapped in vestments of salvation and is called into new life as “Christ’s ambassador.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) This high calling requires an abrupt wardrobe adjustment. The rags of sin are traded for Christ’s “robe of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10) The ashes of death are replaced by “a crown of beauty.” (Isaiah 61:3a) Despair disintegrates under a “garment of praise.” (Isaiah 61:3b) The newest member of the body of Christ, “holy and dearly loved,” clothes himself with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) Yes, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new is come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17b) But even more amazingly, “God, Who is rich in mercy, made (him) alive with Christ even when (he was) dead in transgressions…” (Ephesians 2:4-5a)

My grandkids may switch into and out of costumes and characters faster than a Texas tornado, but you who have taken on the beautiful, holy robe bestowed by the Lord – well, you’d best get comfortable in your new attire. It will be yours for all eternity.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24