Wearing a Mennonite Dress

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Yes, I'm excited to wear them.
  
  I never dreamed I would be excited to wear a Mennonite dress because I wanted to. I still remember slipping on a crop top and cotton shorts and turning up my nose at cousins and aunts who were still in the Kleine Gemeinde church with their wide collars and even wider loose dresses (although their style has changed over the years with the younger ones now using more form-fitting ones and my attitude towards dresses in general has changed also). It's been quite a journey, hasn't it? But God is faithful. I still find it hard to believe that for weeks I eagerly anticipated this day when the church sisters from this Amish Mennonite congregation would unite to sew colorful cape dresses for me.
  It certainly was a wonderful day with beautiful weather to match. Hubby stayed home to mind the toddlers while I joined the ladies accompanied by our 9-month-old who is breastfed and therefore inseparable. The spiritual refreshment and courage I received in attending a gathering of beautiful ladies of like faith, both old and young all neatly dressed in long modest dresses without any extra fabric or wide collars was a special moment not to be taken lightly. We discussed what ladies usually do yet with a clear understanding that our speech must not stray over into idle gossip. I learned a lot more than I can ever write here so I will not even try.
  I really like and admire these type of cape dresses. I love the many yards of soft colorful fabric donated with love by my sisters in the faith. Why do they wear these style of cape dresses? To preserve modesty and prevent the woman's bust from being outlined. Nowhere in the Bible does it say a woman must wear a dress but it does instruct us to maintain a distinct form of separation between men and women's garments and to be modest in our clothes. As a church body this is what has been agreed upon therefore I am happily and willingly going to wear them.
  My husband scratched his head and raised his eyebrows as I showed him my new dresses one by one, pointed out that one of them reminded him of chopped vegetable salad and another of ice cream, then gave up and became completely engrossed in his carpentry. So typical.











Betty

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