I am a stay at home Mother, with firm convictions in the area of family life. We believe if at all possible a Mother should homeschool her children, we believe in dressing modestly, modest meaning long dresses, skirts, jumpers, clothes that are not tight and revealing. We also believe in courtship, very limited amount of TV, being under submission to authority, Wife to husband, children to parents. But so many times, when a family starts to believe this way, it is so different than the rest of the world, that you focus on it a lot, training your children about why they should wear a dress, why they are homeschooled, why they are not allowed to date, etc. But this all leads me to a question. Have we become to focused on this area of the family, allowing this to become the definition of Christianity? Do we judge a fellow Christian based on the fact that they have a TV in their home, or that the wife might have a pair of pants on? Now don’t get me wrong, I know that sometimes the outward appearance does speak volumes for what the heart is believing. But let me share this example. My adopted Grandma Dorthy was the most perfect older Titus 2 woman that I have ever known. She was such an example of faith to me, she always had a testimony to share, her spirit was so sweet, and she was strong in the faith. She raised four children with her husband, and was from what I hear, a wonderful wife and mother. But she didn’t wear dresses, and did not homeschool her children. So, should we discard all the testimonies and the sweet spirit that she carried based on the simple fact that she wore pants? Absolutely not!
I don’t want to sound harsh here, but this has been heavy upon my mind for some time now. We may think that surely we don’t judge someone for these reasons, but examine your heart, and your actions closely. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23, 24
If I have a woman come up to me and inquire about the way that I dress and share that she is thinking about making a change in her wardrobe to more modest dress, amd I going to tell her that it’s no big deal, and she can keep wearing her jeans? NO! I will share everything I can with her regarding why I am convicted, and the importance of dressing pure. SO I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that it is not important to me. It is a subject near and dear to my heart. But, it is only one small step that leads us closer in our walk to our Lord and Savior. If a woman wears dresses, and homeschools, but has not charity, humility, a meek and a teachable spirit, than she needs to step back and examine her life carefully.
Am I a testimoney of such a woman? No. Perhaps that is why this subject is so dear to my heart. I am like the woman I wrote about at times. But I am trying to change, and with my dear husands encouragement, will hopefully make some progress.
Let me enourage everyone who reads this, press forward in your walk of serving God. Everything we do is so important, let us consider the whole Gospel message.
