Dressing for Church

With homeschooling we didn’t have the annual school clothes shopping or the fighting over what to wear each morning. I did require that we all be dressed before starting school…most of the time. Sick days didn’t count.

When it came to church, I would pick out what they would wear until they were old enough to begin deciding. Outfits were vetoed occasionally. Jeans with holes were not allowed. As the girls began to enter their teen years, we seemed to have more disagreements about a lot of things. I realized we needed to decide what battles to fight and what to let go of. Have you noticed clothing styles tend to resurface after so many years? Fashions change but eventually return with minor tweets and of course, they give it a new name. I really hated the era of the crop tops but I’ve heard they are coming back in. Ugh. I felt relieved when we moved out of that into the grunge look. I know some of you mom’s out there remember dressing this way when you were younger. It was the loose-fitting pants, usually a size or two too big. If I tugged on their pants and could pull them off their hips, they were not allowed. It would then be paired with an over-sized sweater or flannel shirts. Hideous, for the most part, but my thought was, at least they were covered. Depending on where you’re from, this may sound sacrilegious to dress this way, especially for church. I remember one morning finding my daughters digging through their fathers box of sweaters. Once they found what they were looking for they happily made their way back to their room, eventually exiting and proclaiming they were ready for Sunday school. My husband threw his hand out their way in dismay, as if to say, “They can’t go to church looking like that.” I pulled him aside. “Jer, while ugly, I agree, it meets our dressing standards for the girls. Nothing too tight, too low or too short.” This was not a battle worth fighting. Honestly, I don't think God cares so much about what we wear but where our hearts are at. The girls felt good about how they looked, even if it made us cringe. It makes me thankful fashions come and go. Some seasons are better than others.