Saturday, December 29, 2012

Modesty with a Helping Hand



I wore this outfit on Christmas day.
I liked this outfit because it had so many colors that seem to complement each other! It reminds me so much of how love works among people. :D

Christmas is indeed a season of loving and building up each other.
It is the time of the year when we are reminded of the awesome people around us who got our back.
And do you know what I realize? I realize that modesty is a community effort.

Let me tell you the first time God let me consider modesty.

The people who knew me in high school and early college would know that I'm one who was confident enough to wear sleeveless tops, shorts. At certain events, I was even willing to show the world my fat belly. (Haha, hello to my HS schoolmates who were in Sportsfest '09!) If you thought that I was brought up prioritizing modesty, you're wrong! I was even made to believe that I could wear anything and I should flaunt what I've got.

So what did God do to let me rethink how I dress?
It was when I wore the most daring outfit I've worn my life - a swimsuit.
I was with my cousins and we bonded in the summer break in Club Manila East. As you all know, it was required there to wear swimsuit. And so I did.
What do girls do on outings? They take pictures - lots of pictures. When we posted these pictures on FB, boom! God spoke to the heart of a sister in Christ to help us realize what this outfits could do. (Thanks to Ate Ree, what you did remained in my heart! ;) ) During that time, I was defensive but we deleted the album anyway. I denied its immodesty to myself. I told myself so many things to think that wearing swimsuit isn't so bad.. I wore shorts!! I thought of other Christian women who wore more daring clothes than that, just to justify what I did. But oh well, your heart would not remain so hard when it's God's love that melts it.

I saw how much God loves me - the very reason why He did not want me to stay immodest!
He wanted me to learn to protect the castle (this body) that He lent me!
That's what finally got me into modesty!

No, it wasn't all smooth. I asked so many questions at first. I did not want to take the challenge of modesty with a heart that was not 100% committed! So I had a couple of months just praying about it, asking people around me what their opinion on modesty was and consulting the most reliable source of all time - the Bible. Seeing the good things about modesty, I took the challenge, with a heart that's 100% prepared for the changes in my life that God would call me to do. Since then, God has taught me so many things, and there are a lot of things I still could learn. Isn't the journey with God exciting everyday? :)

See how it all started?
It started when a follower of Christ rebuked me without making me feel condemned.
All I felt in her words was concern. That's what we should do, my dear sisters. We should help each other to pursue modesty and build each other up! We should be prepared to help, not condemn.
I admit, not at all times do I notice that my skirt is too short or my top's fabric is see through. A sister who would whisper in my ear that my outfit isn't a blessing to everyone would be greatly appreciated! A sister who would offer me a cardigan when my top is a little see through would be a great blessing! :)
On the other hand, when someone tells you that what you are wearing isn't exactly helping your brothers and sisters, be open-minded and humble enough to listen as if it's God talking to you... because when if it pierced your pride, it may indeed be God talking to you through your sister!! ;)

My sister-in-law's gift complemented the flowers in the skirt. It makes the pinkish reddish stuff in the skirt pop out a little more :) I did not wear it when we went out thoughh, to tone down the outfit a little.
Yellow earrings! They were simple, in contrast to the busy skirt.
Necklace: Ate Aimee's gift ;) || Belt: Ate Ann's gift ;) || Top: Forever 21 || Skirt: Thrifted

I wore this on Christmas day to let the world know how happy I was for what Jesus did on the cross!
This was inspired by that event. The floral pattern even gave me the idea of how I bloomed and grew as a person because of Jesus. I knew that without His grace, I would never be the person I am today! Hehe. That outfit is deep, it has an interpretation. There's a lot of art in fashion, after all! :)

So I celebrated Christmas with special people.
I played Pinoy Henyo with my brother, his girlfriend Ate Ann, and my mom. I had Kuya Pao as my teammate..

Guess who won? Of course my mom and Ate Ann! It's Christmas - Kuya Pao and I had to act like idiots to make them win. We want them to experience victory, we were that selfless.. HAHAHA KIDDIN'! Truth is, we lost because we were not good at this! =))
Then we went to SM Taytay. It was quite crowded, like divisoria. Hahaha.
My brother's girlfriend. My pseudo sister too ;)
My lovely mom! Who would ever guess her age right? Hehe :)
We ate shawarma. Turkish Shawarma is by far the best shawarma we tasted. Any suggestion of brands that tastes better? :P (we'll be able to taste Qatar's shawarma in January, my dad's special-request pasalubong! Hahaha!)


Then we enjoyed buko shake at Coco Fresco :) I had Coco-Choco Syrup (Hershey's Syrup) added which made the buko shake more exciting! Though Kuya Pao and I had to rush home a little later because of what buko gave our tummies for Christmas.. If you know what I mean.. Haha!
I also had my hair curled when my mom bought a curling iron. My mom really loves fixing my hair. She's the one most conscious about my hair. Haha sorry for the blurry picture.

What did you do on Christmas day itself? Did you enjoy it well with the people you love most? :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Faye! Do you have some suggestions on how to pursue modesty in places that "force" you to wear "not-so-modest" clothes such as in swimming pools or in jobs that require wearing of mini skirts?