I Could Have~Guest Post by Julie Fink

A few weeks ago my friend Rose came by on a Friday morning to pick me up to go to a Girls Getaway that I had planned for our church ladies in Shipshewana, Indiana. She arrived a few minutes early, and since I wasn’t quite ready, I let her in and asked her to make herself comfortable while I finished up.

When I walked out of my room about fifteen minutes later, she was standing by our fireplace mantle looking at a photo album of a trip I took to a variety of places in Michigan with my husband last summer. The album was a gift designed by our daughter Sabrina and made through a company called Shutterfly.

On the cover of the album is a picture of my husband and me sitting on a bicycle built for two that we rode around the perimeter of Mackinaw Island on the day that we spent there.

“I don’t get it,” my friend Rose said, “Why couldn't you have worn pants or Capri’s to do this?”

“I could have,” I told her, “I could have worn whatever I wanted to wear. I just chose to wear my khaki skirt.”

“Oh,” she replied, “I just thought you wore it because you had to.”

I don’t do anything because I have to. Everything that I do is by choice. And for the past many years, I have chosen to wear skirts and dresses in just about everything I do.

What caused me to make this kind of decision? I made this decision after reading a little book entitled, “Your Clothes Say it for You” by Elisabeth Rice Handford. It’s a little book that I picked up at a tiny Baptist Book Store in Orlando, Florida. I didn't go to the store searching for a book like this, but the title caught my eye and so I decided to give it a read.

This little book reminded me of two very important things:

1. People notice what we wear.
2. People are affected by what we wear.

People notice what we wear. I have noticed that when I dress modestly and in a feminine way people are often encouraged or intrigued. Men are usually encouraged, women are often intrigued.

My wearing dresses and skirts has often given me special opportunities to share Christ with others in ways that I would not usually get to share. Just like my friend Rose was curious about why I wore a skirt to ride a bike, many other people are curious about why I wear skirts and dresses whenever they see me too. Their questions always give me an opportunity to share how I got saved, how much I love the Lord, and how important it is for those of us that are saved and love the Lord to live in a way that communicate who He is to the lost world around us.

When I wear my skirts and dresses I am sharing one of the most important truths in the Bible ~ and that is that God made them male and female. If you have ever spent any time reading through the Bible, you know how important this truth is to God and how vital it is to carrying out the good works (marriage, parenting, respect, leadership, provision) that God has called His creation to carry out.

But truth is not the only thing that is communicated by the skirts and dresses that I have chosen to wear ~ respect for myself and others is communicated too.

When I choose to dress modestly and in a feminine way I am sharing a message loud and clear that says, “I care about those that are around me. I care about the men that are looking my way. I care about their purity and I care about their devotion to the Lord and I care about the security of their wives.”

My choice of dress also communicates the respect that I have for myself. Every time I dress in a way that modestly covers my “sensual zones” I am reminded of my own value. I’m not just some cheap piece of something found and fondled on a clearance rack in some discount store. And I’m not something that is supposed to be sampled by people that are just walking by wondering whether they would want to buy me or not. I am a precious creation of God and my body is a special gift that He has given to me to share with someone very, very special ~ and that is my husband. Because of the respect that I have for myself and others, I have chosen to dress in a modest and feminine way.

I could have worn a pair of pants or Capri’s or shorts or anything else that I wanted to wear when I took that bike ride last summer. As a born again Christian woman, I have the freedom to wear whatever I want ,wherever I want, and how ever I want. That is what Christian liberty is all about. God doesn't judge me for what I wear daily because He doesn't even notice what I wear daily ~ when the Lord looks at me, all He sees is Jesus.

The reason that I dress modestly and femininely is because I know that people notice and people are affected by what I wear. And when the world looks at me, I don’t want them to see a woman that is wrapped up in being culturally comfortable or convenient, I want them to see that I am a woman that loves them and desires to communicate the truths that I have learned from my wonderful Saviour Jesus."

Mrs. Julie Fink is a kindred spirit of mine!

She is a  a wife to a good man who happens to be a busy and successful Pastor. The mother of two delightful grown-up daughters, mother in law to their husbands and grandma to Jeremy and Sabrina’s two precious little boys. She is a woman that loves her home and spending time with her family.

Julie is also a Pastor’s Wife to their church folks, a friendly face to herneighbors, a daughter to her father, a sister to my sisters, and a friend to many of you.

But best of all, she is a child of the King who is loved by our Lord.  She has been saved since the spring of 1984 and she has enjoyed every minute of growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

For more encouragement from Julie, please visit her at Journal for Women! She aso has some wonderful audio messages and Bible studies for women!