Sister Roffie Ensey. She is the wife of Rev. J. R. Ensey, Associate Pastor of Living Way Church in Conroe, TX. They have been married 52 years. She is mother of two, grandmother to five and great-grandmother to 10.
She has authored two books - The Role of the Shepherdess and Through the Storm God is Faithful
Through their years in the ministry they have served as evangelist, home missionaries, official for UPCI, pastor, President and teachers at Texas Bible College. They now serve as Associate Pastor with their son in Conroe, Texas and travel.
And now, Sister Ensey....
When I first heard the title of this blog I thought of the
time when our clothing designers decided we need slits in our skirts. I noticed
that our teenage girls were the first to want to wear this new style. I had an
everyday skirt that had about a 2” slit in it and I wore it occasionally
without thinking about the example I was to the ladies in our church. However,
when I realized what I was exampling to them and how it was affecting them, I
made a covenant with myself that I would never again wear a skirt with a slit
in it, or even an opening of any kind in the hem.
That has
been over thirty years ago and I have kept that covenant. Has it always been
easy? No. Has it always been convenient? No. Isn’t it hard to find skirts
without slits? Yes. But, when you understand the consequences of your example,
and want to be intentionally modest you can. That is not to say those who feel
comfortable wearing slits in their skirts are always immodest. Many who do wear
slits make sure the slit starts below the knee.
There are
several ways to close a slit. You can pin it but that usually does not look
great or stay well, sometimes causing a rip or tear in the fabric. So it is
usually best to sew it up. Some skirts do not have enough fabric around the
bottom to allow you to walk comfortably when you do this. So it is best to make
a pleat by inserting material in the opening, which is what I usually do. If
you do not sew, you can take the skirt to a tailor who will be happy to do it
for you.
Another idea
is to make your own skirt. I have done this for many, many years. This allows you to get nice material
and make a skirt for very little and have more to spend on your jacket to make
a very nice ensemble.
As the
skirts get shorter and shorter, it is harder and harder to find one the length
you want it to be. Some time ago I had on a skirt that was below my knees, but
still a little shorter than I normally wear. An older lady (she was in her
90’s) came to me and said, “I am disappointed to see you in a skirt that
short.” Really made me think about the example we should set, not just those in
our age group or younger, but also older.
Modesty is
a mark of maturity and a lady who wants to be intentionally modest will
maintain her modesty no matter where she is or what she is doing. We must not
be influenced by the fashions of the world to the point that we get to
thinking, “everybody is wearing this or that…”
G. K. Chesterton said, “Fallacies
do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” Neither do immodest styles cease to be
immodest because they become fashionable.
I challenge you to make a covenant
with yourself today that you will be intentionally modest. So much so that you
stand out in a crowd as a chosen one.
