When God Redeemed Dresses for Me

There is something about putting on a dress that feels just right. The one that fits the waist just so, and how the heavy fabric swooshes as you dance to the 1940's jazz. For me, the green one with cloth-covered buttons, cut in a vintage-inspired shape, is dotted with pink floral designs.

I had not always felt that way about dresses. For me, dresses were exposing and revealing femininity in a way that left us women looking like the weaker vessel. I viewed beauty as weakness that should not be shared. I viewed femininity as seductive and sinful.

How far that is from the truth!

God actually has a divine purpose for beauty. It brings Him glory and is a gift given to us with dignity. Offering beauty requires courage.

The prayer slipped out of my lips one day...

"Dear Lord, I've struggled with wanting to wear dresses. Would You fix that for me? I don't need to wear them, I just want to be free to wear them without shame."

Three or four days later God answered. I was listening to someone I met that night at a young adults' Bible study, inviting others to swing dancing that Tuesday.

"Swing dancing?" I looked at her as she explained to the guys what it was.

"Yep!" she nodded, "You should come too. It's easy." She grabs one of the guys and has him demonstrate a basic triple step with her (which looked anything but basic).

I do hesitate to come because though I like dancing, there are a lot of unknowns, and dancing with a partner? I tried not to think about it too much.

"What would I have to wear?" I ask.

She points at her white sneakers, "shoes that are comfortable like this..." then she gestures at me with her finger, "and wear a dress! With gym shorts underneath."

My breath left me. God had brought me a challenge that would be both fun and terrifying. It was that moment I knew I needed to follow through.

Tuesday night came, and I put on a dress, gym shorts, comfy white laced shoes, and a shacket big enough to hide the dress I was wearing. Shame crept up my neck and made me feel embarrassed. Hyper-vigilance made me wonder if guys would be creepy towards me because I wore a dress (or if I would be kidnapped, yes, this was a real trauma response).

For warm-ups, I determinedly kept the shacket on despite the sweat.

Sweat won out, and I had to take my shacket off during the lesson. Turns out...nobody was weird. A guy asked for my number--but he was polite.

...and I felt pretty. Beautiful. Feminine.

Several weeks later, I was on the hunt--for dresses! I invited God to shop with me, and we ended up at this cute boutique. I wanted something modest that I could continue swing dancing in.

Right off the bat, there was this bold green dress. Cloth-covered buttons, pink floral designs dotting the dress. Sounds like the aforementioned dress at the beginning of my blog? It is.

I genuinely believe God helped me pick out that dress. I tried it on and thought it was bold in comparison to all the other things I had in my closet. It took me a while to convince myself to buy it, but I'm so glad I did. Whenever I look at it in my closet, it is like the beacon piece that shows me God redeems.

God redeemed my embarrassment and helped me enjoy my femininity.

God redeemed my shame and turned it into glory.

God redeemed dresses.

with joy,

MJ