GUEST
ARTICLE
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM SARAH
Why Sarah Wears Dresses
 “In
like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest
apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided
hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array” (1 Timothy 2:9).
In
our society, modesty is a subject that is rarely discussed
or broached. What some people consider modest is not modest
at all! So, what IS modest? As a godly Christian girl how
are you dressing? The Lord led us to wearing dresses (when
say dresses throughout this article, I'm also referring
to jumpers and skirts!) only when I was about ten or so.
At first, I was just wearing dresses because my parents
wanted me to. But, as I grew older, my love for wearing
dresses increased as did my desire to not defraud men with
what I wore. Now, the conviction that my parents’ had for
me has been replaced with my own conviction to dress modestly.
We have several reasons why I wear dresses only. The main reason is not to
defraud men with the way I dress. If a lady wears pants, a man’s eyes are drawn
to a part of her body they should not be drawn to. This can cause a man to
have impure thoughts. The same thing with tight, revealing tops or low-necked
blouses. We have heard some say, “But he is responsible for his thoughts!” Yes,
that is true, but it is also our responsibility as a godly woman to dress in
a way that would not provoke those thoughts. Would you be willing to deny yourself
the “pleasure” of dressing the way you want to help a brother in Christ? “Wherefore,
if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth,
lest I make my brother to offend” (1 Corinthians 8:13). We could paraphrase
it and say, “If a certain type of clothing make my brother to offend, I will
not dress that way…”
Another
reason we wear dresses is to appear distinctly feminine.
Compare a girl wearing pants to a girl wearing a dress!
Who looks more feminine? Clearly it’s the girl in a dress!
We know some like to think that they have cute feminine
pants, but pants are still men’s clothing in our day.
We
would encourage you that it is important even if you are
wearing dresses to have specific standards. Just because
a girl wears a dress does not mean she is modest. From
our experience, there are more immodest dresses available
in the stores than there are modest ones. I prefer my dresses
to be ankle length. I do not wear spandex type material
in dresses, skirts, or jumpers because it is very clingy.
I avoid slits in skirts (we sew them up :-)) because it
draws a man’s eyes to a woman’s legs and creates a peek-a-boo
effect. I do not wear low-necked shirts, blouses, or dresses
but rather ones that are at the collarbone or above. I
personally do not wear sleeveless shirts. When looking
at someone wearing a sleeveless blouse, where are your
eyes drawn? Most sleeveless shirts are loose around the
armholes, therefore showing even undergarments much of
the time. Please, I encourage you, re-evaluate if you are
wearing sleeveless things.
My
brothers and Dad go to an inner city homeless mission each
month. A while ago, another church showed up to help with
the service. They arrived late, and a woman was along with
them. She was immodestly dressed, and as she walked down
the aisle to sit near the platform, my brothers observed
that the men about fell over watching her.
I
would encourage you to run your outfits by at least your
Dad, and maybe even your brothers. Since they are men,
they will be able to evaluate clothing and see anything
that might be immodest.
I
can do virtually anything in a jumper that one can do in
pants or shorts - including exercising! In fact, I walk
three miles per day with at least one of my brothers or
sister, and part of that is on a semi-busy road. One morning,
I decided to count how many cars we saw on that 30 minute
section, and can you believe it was around 250 cars?!!
That would mean around 500 people see us every morning,
modestly dressed while exercising. That in itself is a
testimony! I know from comments we’ve heard that people
definitely notice us. One time, my younger brothers and
sisters and I walked to a gas station to get a treat. Someone
held the door open for us and said something like, “Oh,
so you’re the walkers we see every morning!” They felt
like they knew us just because they saw us. We have also
had people comment on how happy we look. May Jesus Christ
be praised!
If
you feel you can’t do something in a dress, I would encourage
you to question whether it is an activity that you can
do and be feminine.
Sarah
Maxwell
http://www.preparingdaughters.com/modest-articles-and-testimonies.php
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