Dressing for Church

Getting dressed for church every Sunday morning had become a chore. I couldn’t remember what I had worn the last Sunday. I had a couple of favorite skirts and shirts, and I had no idea how frequently I actually wore them. I was beginning to feel that I needed to start keeping a list. Or write week designations on the clothing tags. Thus was my thinking almost all winter.

Then spring came, and I was okay for several weeks because the warmer weather brought new options. But too soon, I was stuck again. Frequently, I would change my clothes two or three times every Sunday morning, trying to decide what to wear. And on and on it went…

Until one fabulous,  life-altering morning. I had invited a friend to church, and she and her family were going to come that morning. I loved and knew this family well. They comprised a fairly large, one-income family. I knew that she wouldn’t be wearing anything particularly nice to church that morning, so I dressed down. Because I loved her and wanted her to feel comfortable, and I didn’t want her to think I was trying to show her up. That morning has been so liberating for me. Since then, I’ve realized and pondered several things:

1. I love everybody, and I don’t want to show anyone up.
2. Visitors to our church are less likely to have nice-looking church-appropriate attire, and I definitely want them to feel comfortable and not like they are dressed too casually. If I can get intimidated every single Sunday, I can just imagine how a visitor might feel, especially someone who’s not used to going to church at all.
3. The other church ladies can still wear whatever they like; dressing very nicely is their way of honoring God.
4. There’s no sin in owning fewer articles of clothing, so if I accidentally wear my favorite skirt/blouse combo every Sunday, people can go ahead and believe that’s all I own. Why should that bother me? Do I honestly believe that people will think I haven’t changed clothes all week, or done laundry?
5. My level of modesty should be the same wherever I go, so it should not be a consideration when I am dressing for church. I
   should be able to wear anything I own.
6. God doesn’t care how I dress, as long as I am clean, modest, and easy to be around.

I hope this post helps lift a burden somewhere!