The devil doesn’t always wear Prada. Sometimes it wears regular non name brand clothing. Sometimes it wears a uniform. Sometimes it wears a white sheet. Sometimes it wears a disguise that fools us into creating and promoting illusions. Sometimes it wears anger, despair and frustration. Sometimes it wears uncertainty, failure and defeat. Sometimes it wears deceit, manipulation and distrust. Sometimes it wears temptation, overindulgence and instant gratification. Sometimes it wears miseducation, disenfranchisement and nepotism. Sometimes it wears greed, obsession and selfishness. Sometimes it wears fear, guilt and shame. Sometimes it wears impatience, carelessness and contempt. Sometimes it wears nothing at all.

I’m not a religious person, but I am a Christian. To me that means, I’m not a fanatic who goes around pushing my belief in God off on others. I’m passionate about my beliefs, but I recognize that our respective beliefs are part of what makes us individuals. I was raised going to church often, pretty much every Sunday and other days depending upon the event. As a child, I had no true understanding of Faith. I understood the simple meaning of believing in things that you can’t see, touch or feel. Now as an adult, I have a clearer understanding of Faith.  It’s much more than just believing in the unknown.  It’s about using what you already know to embrace and conquer the unknown.

Lately, I have faltered in my walk of Faith because I have been receiving a relentless amount of tests and adversity. I pray for relief; my Faith tells me that my prayers will be answered, but being patient is a daily struggle. Things could always be worse, but they can always be better too. This is part of what contributes to my daily struggle, constantly desiring things to be better, not wanting to accept the worse. The devil will continue to wear all the things I listed above and then some; it is the master of all disguises.

The key is to recognize when the devil is wearing one of its countless disguises. Once the disguise is revealed, it can be replaced with love, happiness, fulfillment, confidence, peace, gratitude, kindness, pride, courage, wisdom, motivation, opportunity, appreciation, patience, discipline, success, victory, fairness, clarity, knowledge, acceptance, determination, joy, endurance, compromise, caring, sharing, tolerance, understanding, hope and faith.