Modesty

In this process I have been on of losing weight, I have access to clothing and an appreciation for how I look that didn't exist before. For the last few months, I have felt better about how I look than at any other point in my life.

With this comes a lot of attention. Sometimes the attention is an appreciative glance from a stranger, often it is a comment about how much I have lost, but by far the most comments I have recieved have come from the girls around me who have known me for a time. Their comments often have the "You WORK IT, girl!" tone to them. Now, don't misunderstand me..... I LOVE the comments. I love it when my hard work is noticed. However, it has brought to mind some interesting thoughts about what and why I choose to wear what I do.

It is natural to want to feel like we look good. It is natural to see an appreciative glance from someone. That is built into us. The problem can come when we wear certain clothes to attract attention or to fill a need in our own lives.

I find that somedays when I am needing a little lift in how I am feeling, and I choose something that will provide that from others. I recall one day this summer when I was dressed up for an event and feeling 'sexy', my friends noticed, and my response was "I want to get hit on today".

I specifically recall this moment because it was at the beginning of a journey that I have been on for about 4 months. I see that in that moment, I was looking for external appreciation. Since then, I have thought often about the WHY behind the clothes that I choose.

This realization made me make some specific choices this summer. There was a certain pair of capris that I really liked wearing. I liked the way I felt like I looked in them, and I got a lot of compliments when I wore them. One Sunday morning, I was standing up at the front of the church worshipping, when I had this feeling like everyone could see right through my pants. I felt like I had a neon arrow pointing to my rearend. I was very self-concious about it.

I realized that this particular outfit made me feel more 'sexy' than beautiful. And I knew at the core of who I am, that 'sexy' is not what I want to be- nor is it kind to the men around me trying to live thier lives in purity. I decided then and there, that I would no longer wear those particular capris to church. And I actually only wore them once or twice more that season, and always with the feeling like I was compromising something of my purity by doing so. There is nothing wrong with capris or even white capris (which these happen to be), rather, as is almost always the case with God, it was the intent of the heart that was the problem.

Is there anything that others might find unusual that you do-or don't do- for modesty's sake?

Check out a very interesting survey on modesty here.