Last night, I had an amazing opportunity to share my faith with an entire room full of social work teachers and students. This story begins last year.
I wear a skirt to class every day. And last year after class, a classmate came up to me and said "I like your skirt." I noticed that she too was wearing a skirt. And so we struck up a conversation. It turns out Ilana is Orthodox Jewish. We talked about our desires to bring glory to God through our dress, and a friendship was born.
A few weeks ago she emailed me and asked if I would be willing to speak as part of a panel on the topic of "Women of Faith: Beauty, Modesty, Strength & Identity." Ilana had also asked a Muslim, a Hindu, a Catholic Christian, and another Orthodox.
These were the main questions we were asked:
1. What are some misconceptions about women’s role in your religion? What do you feel is an
accurate description of the role of women in your religion?
2. How is beauty defined in your religion?
3. What (if any) guidelines does your religion have in regards to modesty (in dress and in action)
and how does this shape how you view yourself and how you interact with others?
4. How does dating/marriage work in your religion? What are the customs and guidelines in this
area?
5. How has being a member of your religion been a source of strength for you? How may it
hinder you?
6. What is your experience being a member of your religion on campus?
7. What do you feel is the biggest obstacle that women/men of your religion face? This can be in
relation to one’s self, other members of the religion, or society at large.
And so, I was able to sit in front of a room full of college kids and talk about being a woman of God. It was incredible. The Orthodox girl, Gila, and the Catholic girl, Stephanie, have so much in common with me.
We talked about modesty and self respect, about purity, and the beauty that comes from the heart. The beauty that lasts. Beauty from God.
We were able to tell them how we feel marginalized, in a school that prides itself on not marginalizing people. How we feel that our values aren't valued as much as other values. All five of us shared how hard it is to share our beliefs to those who already feel we are naive.
Stephanie and I talked about God's spirit shining through you, the holiness of a marriage relationship, about God's mercy, and about women's roles in the church.
During the panel I was struck by a few things:
1. Modesty of dress, modesty of actions, and femininity are not AC tradition. In fact they aren't only Christian tradition and it is absolutely ridiculous to think so.
2. To blame these things on the church, is to fall prey to the stereotypes held by American culture that women of faith are oppressed. To give up an interpretation of the Bible because it is "only tradition," is to identify yourself with the worldly ideals of outward appearance.
3. Using tradition, rules, guidelines, whatever you want to call it, for God will bring more glory to God than abandoning them because they are legalistic. So, call me legalistic, religious, I don't care, I would have never had this opportunity to share Christ if I had not worn a skirt.
It was incredible to watch the reactions of the teachers as we spoke of our fears and of the students as we spoke about modesty and purity. Everyone stayed late and asked a lot of questions. I hope of all of the voices last night, Christ's spoke the loudest.
In Christ
~Michelle
I wear a skirt to class every day. And last year after class, a classmate came up to me and said "I like your skirt." I noticed that she too was wearing a skirt. And so we struck up a conversation. It turns out Ilana is Orthodox Jewish. We talked about our desires to bring glory to God through our dress, and a friendship was born.
A few weeks ago she emailed me and asked if I would be willing to speak as part of a panel on the topic of "Women of Faith: Beauty, Modesty, Strength & Identity." Ilana had also asked a Muslim, a Hindu, a Catholic Christian, and another Orthodox.
These were the main questions we were asked:
1. What are some misconceptions about women’s role in your religion? What do you feel is an
accurate description of the role of women in your religion?
2. How is beauty defined in your religion?
3. What (if any) guidelines does your religion have in regards to modesty (in dress and in action)
and how does this shape how you view yourself and how you interact with others?
4. How does dating/marriage work in your religion? What are the customs and guidelines in this
area?
5. How has being a member of your religion been a source of strength for you? How may it
hinder you?
6. What is your experience being a member of your religion on campus?
7. What do you feel is the biggest obstacle that women/men of your religion face? This can be in
relation to one’s self, other members of the religion, or society at large.
And so, I was able to sit in front of a room full of college kids and talk about being a woman of God. It was incredible. The Orthodox girl, Gila, and the Catholic girl, Stephanie, have so much in common with me.
We talked about modesty and self respect, about purity, and the beauty that comes from the heart. The beauty that lasts. Beauty from God.
We were able to tell them how we feel marginalized, in a school that prides itself on not marginalizing people. How we feel that our values aren't valued as much as other values. All five of us shared how hard it is to share our beliefs to those who already feel we are naive.
Stephanie and I talked about God's spirit shining through you, the holiness of a marriage relationship, about God's mercy, and about women's roles in the church.
During the panel I was struck by a few things:
1. Modesty of dress, modesty of actions, and femininity are not AC tradition. In fact they aren't only Christian tradition and it is absolutely ridiculous to think so.
2. To blame these things on the church, is to fall prey to the stereotypes held by American culture that women of faith are oppressed. To give up an interpretation of the Bible because it is "only tradition," is to identify yourself with the worldly ideals of outward appearance.
3. Using tradition, rules, guidelines, whatever you want to call it, for God will bring more glory to God than abandoning them because they are legalistic. So, call me legalistic, religious, I don't care, I would have never had this opportunity to share Christ if I had not worn a skirt.
It was incredible to watch the reactions of the teachers as we spoke of our fears and of the students as we spoke about modesty and purity. Everyone stayed late and asked a lot of questions. I hope of all of the voices last night, Christ's spoke the loudest.
In Christ
~Michelle
4 comments:
michelle, I love this. I'm so thankful you had this opportunity. grant & I had a similar opportunity together after we got married and it was so faith-building - not to mention a wonderful opportunity. thanks for being a good example! love you! hannah
Amen.
This made me cry. And I'm so incredibly proud to be your sister.
Aw thanks both of you! I really appreciate both of your examples as well. :)
Hi Michelle. i only know you through Jenny's blog, and actually i just found your blog tonight (doing the blog hopping thing, you know)(from Matt&Lena's), but just want to tell you thanks for sharing your experience. Very encouraging. Esp as i assume you're in college (at UofI?)(I think that's where Jenny went?) and i can appreciate the atmosphere - probably worse than when i was there 20+years ago. Keep your light shining for Him.
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