CHURCH⛪OUTFIT

I was listening to a street preacher the other day, and he touched on a topic about Women dressing modestly. He was talking to a group of Women, preparing to walk into what looked like a male strip club. They were wearing inappropriate clothing appropriate for that setting. While I agreed with what he was saying given the environment and context of his witnessing…..a few things had me thinking.

1.) He used his wife as an example of how Women should dress.

2.) He went into depth with attire, but did not go into the area of what fits different body types.

3.) He is not a Christian Woman. Or a Woman at all.

Do not get me wrong. I do believe in the Shepherd of the church leading the entire congregation; male, female, boy and girl, based on Biblical principles and teachings.. collectively. The Bible does cover modest appearance amongst males and females. However, when Christian Men are teaching about it, although with loving and respectful intentions…should leave their wives out of the example of how a Woman should adorn herself, unless he is willing to tread on some uncomfortable territory in explaining female body types. He and his wife are a bit older: that alone means younger Christian Women are not going to dress like her. This does not mean younger Women will not dress modestly, but age plays a part sometimes, in how we dress and in what we may see as age appropriate. Not every Woman shares the same body type as his wife. She may be top heavy and feels more modest wearing oversized tees. While the sister next to her may be a B cup and feels comfortable wearing a button up blouse. This is only covering the top half of the body. Down below is where a lot of the stress begins. Quite literally where our stress is carried as well; in the belly, the hips, behind, the thighs. At times it feels like being a walking fun house.

Legs fit, but hips won’t. It zips but there is a gap in the back. Looks huge on the rack, but the butt fills it out……then you realize the amount of material that you just squeezed all that body into. And if you are a woman with a high waist, finding bottoms where the waist is too big but the rest of the skirt fits decently…..can be a pain. I wear a lot of high waist bottoms.

This is not even touching the topic on Christian Women that may have lipedema or lymphadema…making it even harder to dress certain ways where self-esteem is not hurt.

While I would not tell a God fearing Pastor how he should lead his church, overall I believe when it comes to teaching Women how to dress modestly, it should be taught by Women in the church, with diverse body types. I hate to say this, and maybe I am wrong when I say it, but……this is a Woman’s territory. Standards for Christian Women whom only wear skirts often becomes difficult when we cannot find the right size. I wear pants as well, but I would never wear pants in the house of God. Out of respect. Despite what western media idolizes as the perfect body type for a Woman…..you can go to any American department store in the Women’s section, and never see sizes 12-28 available. Not because they don’t sell those sizes, but because they’ve sold out. That says a lot. The average Woman is not shaped like a famous personality.

In my attempt to be modest again, it helps to be mindful. I have curves and swerves and I have to know what to cover up, but still keep my personality and my age. I am not wearing mumus in my 30’s either, nor with my body type.

While I was not offended by the Pastor and with the truth, it just had me thinking 🤔.