Joy at Stay-at-Home Missionary has hosted a great Modest Fashion Week. Following the Friday post, she invited people to link with their own posts about modesty. Mine is a bit late, but I thought it would be good for me and hopefully helpful to other people if I wrote a little bit about my journey to learning about true modesty, that it begins in the heart and it puts other people first.
I attended Christian school all my life. From kindergarten through my senior year of college, I had to abide by a dress code. Most of the time that didn't really bother me, but sometimes it was just plain annoying, especially the older that I got. It wasn't so much that I wanted to go out and buy and wear clothes that would have been terribly breaking the dress code, but I didn't like having someone tell me what I could and couldn't wear.
Then one time in college there was a special meeting for all the girls. Apparently there had been more dress code violations as of late, and the faculty and staff were trying to address the issue. For some reason that meeting has stuck in my memory while other more enjoyable and fun things from college have faded away. The point of the meeting was to tell the girls how their dress habits effected the young men on campus.
Plenty of people have discussed this area of the topic already, so I'm not going to go into detail. (If you do want to read more about this, here's a really good post I read.) My point is that up to that time in my life, I had not thought about how I dressed effecting anyone but me.
And now a random transition--isn't this really about everything in the Christian life? I am to grow from thinking about how X effects just me, and seeing how it helps me fulfill or break the greatest commandments: 1)Love God with all my being, and 2)Love my neighbor as myself.
Ouch. I don't think that I do this very well. In my dress I hope that I'm doing all right. Though when you have to wear this 7-8 months of the year, modesty when outdoors isn't always a problem. :)
But in my dress, in my conduct am I emptying CristyLynn of CristyLynn and being filled with the Spirit and having the mind of Christ?
I once heard a woman say that "a woman's clothes are her only way of truly expressing herself". Perhaps then a woman's wardrobe is a really good place for a Christian woman to begin expressing who she is by dressing modestly and remembering that she at all times represents Christ and not herself.
Short and random thoughts, but hopefully helpful to someone.
5 comments:
This is really good. What a great reminder to put on Jesus every day.
Really great thoughts...I appreciate your heart that comes through in your writing. I want people to see Christ, not me. Good words.
Blessings,
Joy
Some really good thoughts. Wow, do you really dress like that for most of the year? I dread having to rug up for just a few months - but as you say, it's hard not to be modest dressed for the cold (unless you're really insane). Lovely to be able to visit your blog. Blessings, Jules
Thanks for sharing... This is something I'm still struggling with, as I grew up one way and my husband grew up in an entirely different environment. Maybe we should move someplace cold so it's not so much of an issue!
Thanks, friends!
Being in the cold does have some advantages for dressing modest in the winter, but then in the summer you have the extra temptation to wear as little as possible because you feel so free! :)
The females here in general are definitely not concerned about modest dressing any time of year, and I have found it easy to let my own standards slide because it's not hard to be more modest than the average girl walking down the street! I have to remember not to compare myself with who is around me but to hold to what I believe is right and to listen to my husband about what is helpful for me.
Thanks for the comments!
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