Thursday, November 1, 2012

No skirting around this issue

 I would like to introduce our very first guest author.
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.

No comments:

Post a Comment