What really matters...

In my last post, I challenged all the girls reading this to the "7 Days in a Dress" challenge. I thought I should tell you how it's going.

The first day, Tuesday, I picked out an outfit, and attempted to do my hair up. I did a style that was very simple. Later on, though, I had to change it to something else because my hair is very thick and hard to manage, so it poofed up and looked terrible. Then, throughout the day, I had to keep on fixing it over and over and over again.

The next day, Wednesday, I finally found an outfit that would work for the day, and I did my hair in a way that seemed simple, but then later, it poofed up and got all frizzy and knotted and the clip fell out, so I had to re-wet my hair and start all over from scratch.

That evening at prayer meeting (our church has prayer meeting on Wed. nights) I prayed with my mom, and then we sat around and talked for a long time. As we did, I realized how foolish we can be sometimes. In the Bible, it never specifically mentions that we should always wear skirts or dresses. It also doesn't encourage us to spend excessive amounts of time on our hair. The Bible tells us not to be adorned by outward things. I am not defending having a sloppy appearance, or dressing immodestly. In fact, I usually wear skirts just because I like to, and it's hard for me to find modest pants. But I don't think that a modest skirt is any better than modest pants. The concepts in the Bible tell us that, as women, we should dress modestly and respectably, in a way that honors God.

1 Peter 3:3-5 says:
³"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ⁵For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,"

Now ponder that for a moment. God says we're NOT to be wasting time on making our hair extravagant, or wasting money on fancy clothes and jewelry, or vainly dressing for attention. We are to be quiet, and gentle, not drawing attention to ourselves. Now wait... does this mean we can't wear pretty things? Do we always hair to look drab and never do our hair? Of course not! Look at Proverbs 31:21-22:

"²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
²²She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple."

Sounds to me like she wears beautiful clothing! But that's not what defines her.

"²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come."

She dresses in a way that is beautiful and feminine, and she's certainly not sloppy or lazy about her appearance, because she's not that way about anything! Her beauty, though, is in her spirit. She is a woman of God! THAT my friends is what really matters - not dresses and skirts, or hairdos, or shoes, or jewelry, or anything that we might think.

So it's up to you. If you believe God would have you to wear skirts, then by all means, do! But if that's not you, then glorify Him in wearing other modest clothing! I am resigning from this 7-day challenge because my life has a lot of circumstances where it is easier/better for me to wear pants (snowboarding, for example). But I'm never going to resign from the challenge to be a Proverbs 31 woman, and I hope you won't, either! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. May God bless you as you rise up in Him!