The Choice of Modesty

By Judith

January 15, 2004

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1,2

Over the years I have felt a pull in my heart to dress in a way that is more pleasing to our God. It started to happen after we felt drawn to a journey of homelearning with our children. Gradually the Lord started to work on one area after another in my heart and the things which were unpleasing to Him began to be brought under His loving eyes.  Yet, it took at least another 12 years before I totally followed the calling that the Lord has laid on my heart.

Three years ago, I was looking for ideas on how to lay out our family website. I was searching through some of my favorite sites trying to learn how a website should *look* when my eye caught an article that captured my interest.  The article that caught my eye was called, MODESTY Women's Apparel I have read many articles over the years where modesty had been encouraged but hadn’t happened to see any (at that point) in quite a few years. This article touched my heart deeply and convicted me in a way that I cannot describe. 

What I had read on modesty in the past had shown an outward change but not the inner transformation of the heart. I desired how I dressed to reflect my inner heart but I had the ways of the world so deeply ingrained in my heart that consistency in this area was difficult. I was not in the habit of being modest in my clothing choices. Because it was not something I was accustomed to I would make a daily decision as to how I would dress depending on what I intended on doing or who I was going to be with. In other words, my convictions were not convictions and I was blown like wind here and there!!

When I read this article, I knew I had to ‘cold turkey’ my habits of what I was choosing to wear each day and allow the Lord to enter my clothing closet and become part of those daily decisions. Firstly, I knew most of my wardrobe needed ‘to go’ and be replaced little by little with clothing that would be pleasing to the Lord that He directed me to wear.

Within 2 days of wearing a dress, my oldest daughter, who was15 years old came out wearing a dress with a HUGE grin on her face!! I must have suppressed her all those years with only being modest on Sunday and ‘when we felt like it’.  The third day my other two daughters (then 11, and 7) came out wearing dresses too!! They have been my best encouragement over the past three years, as we only know two families locally who wear dresses. One of them moved four thousand miles away and the other family does not live that close to us. It is a lonely calling but you know, we were not called to follow Jesus if everyone else was following Him too but even if NO ONE else followed Him.

We had so much fun searching for modest clothing in thrift stores the first couple of years. After a while, we realized that it took less time to find material and sew at home than to search for what was difficult to find. We still go to thrift stores but we probably spend more time at our sewing center at home than gadding about for clothes. We live amidst a perverse generation and it is virtually impossible to find what is virtuous to wear.