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What's That You're Wearing? - 5th in a series by Jessica Sheets My husband and I met while working at a summer youth camp. We spent 10 weeks together, but I was pretty sure that I was in love with him somewhere during week two. He was everything that God had shown me I would have in a husband...and then some! A couple of the "then some" moments happened during our first week. We were all sitting around talking about movies one night, and someone mentioned Titanic (I know I’m aging myself by naming that as a popular movie). Anyway, Dave said that it was good except for the couple of places where you had to "close your eyes and pray for your future wife." Then a few days later some of us were walking through a mall on our night off. We passed a Victoria’s Secret store, and he (nonchalantly) turned his head away from the store. I had seen plenty of guys walk past the world’s most famous lingerie store, however, I had never seen that type of reaction...at least not in anyone young enough for me to be interested in. I tell that story for a couple of reasons. First, I want to remind you that there are guys out there (mine certainly isn’t the only one) who do live according to a higher standard. They don’t look away because that’s what they’re supposed to do. They look away because their eyes are fixed on something greater. Also, there are so many things in life (especially where religion is involved) that we know we’re not supposed to do...we just don’t know why. We need to understand that God created men to work a certain way, and sexual attraction is a part of His plan. Guys are very visual creatures...we as girls will never fully understand that. The fact that a guy is attracted to the female body is not a bad thing...that’s how God made him. And it works beautifully in marriage. The problem is that today, the female body is everywhere! And a guy is never going to totally avoid it unless he completely withdraws from society. But with God’s spirit guiding him, he can know when to turn away and how to get out of "dangerous" situations. And that leads to the second point, which is a subject that is very unpopular in today’s society...modesty. Even the sound of the word makes us jump back a century when women wore dresses down to their ankles and their collars buttoned about half way up their neck. But you don’t have to be a nun in order to have a little modesty. It is another one of those traits that, like it or not, a godly guy is going to be looking for. If a guy is really wanting to stay focused on God, then it’s going to be very difficult to carry on a conversation with you if you have a ton of cleavage hanging out your shirt (or maybe even a little cleavage). Our wardrobe is an opportunity for us to encourage our male friends (or whoever may have his eye on you that you don’t even know about). The way we dress really can be a huge hindrance to them. Imagine if there was a guy who just constantly messed with your emotions (maybe you have trouble picking which guy to think about here). How does it feel if he acts like he likes you one day and then ignores you the next? He loves you one minute and wants to break up the next? Girls are emotional creatures, and that kind of stuff drives us crazy. Our emotions are to us what a guy’s vision is to him. And we often make it very difficult for them based on how we dress. But guys aren’t the only ones that we should be concerned about. This is where the "respect yourself" paragraph should come in. However, respecting ourselves goes far beyond how we dress. Way too many of us forget who we are on the inside. So it’s no wonder that what’s on the outside is a little out of whack. But I just want you to consider the possibility that, just like every other aspect of life, God has a design for how we portray ourselves. I’m not saying we can’t be fashionable. But we may have to look a little harder to find the perfect outfit, because it probably won’t be on display at Abercrombie and Fitch. It’s another one of those things that godly guys notice...and appreciate. God wants you to believe that you have much more to offer a guy than what he sees; and He wants you to know that modesty is a good thing. So let it be something that you give to Him and let Him develop in you. And as who you are on the inside pours out, that’s what will grab a guy’s attention...and he will not want to turn away from it!