Little Things

Once before this I blogged about our purpose in life. As another religious post, I wanted to address something I really would like feedback on if possible. I just wonder why it's so hard for me, and others, to do the right thing when we're taught they're counsel from God. Small things like wearing shorts that are too short. Dating before we're sixteen. Not drinking coffee or alcohol. They're not big things. Yet...some of the time it seems almost impossible for me to not wear shorts that may not be terribly short...but are shorter than the church standard sets them. These are mostly just jumbled thoughts. Again, remember, if you feel uncomfortable just click the little 'X' in the top right hand corner of your screen. I don't make you read me blog, so please don't be offended by anything I write.

As I got ready for bed last night, I was sitting down to read my scriptures before I actually went to sleep. I decided to read my For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, and read the 'Dress and Appearance' section first. The first line reads "Your body is God's sacred creation." from reading this I feel that if I want to truly believe the words that come later and want to make it easier to follow the modesty standard of the church, I need to develop a firm testimony of that first statement. Do I honestly believe my body to be a sacred creation and Gift from God? Later on the section reads "Your dress and grooming send messages about you to others and influence the way you and others act." How true is that. Seriously, how many times have you been in the situation where some girl walks in wearing short shorts and a tank top and for some odd reason that no one can exactly put their finger on, all the guys in the group flock to that girl and flirt with her like there's no tomorrow? I can't tell you how many times I've seen things like that happen.

This morning, after having read these words and praying about them I started cleaning my room like I normally do on Saturday mornings. As I picked up the mounds of clothes I came across my one pair of little red short shorts. Not incredibly short..but short enough that every time I wear them, I think all people see is my legs. Like nothing else on my body is visible. I suddenly start to notice guys complimenting me and giving me hugs and touching me in ways that they otherwise never do. Sometimes I think they're cute. When they're on I feel embarrassed and stupid that I gave in to the temporal side of myself. I picked up my shorts, went to the kitchen, got the kitchen sheers, and started cutting my shorts. I cut the shorts in to tiny pieces and then took the scraps of short shorts to the big, green garbage can in our garage. I started crying as I threw the remains away. Not because I was so sad they were gone, but because I felt so at peace with the choice I'd made. Cutting the shorts seems extremely cheesey and unnecessary. It may be. But I felt as if cutting the shorts was symbolic of me making a promise that I'd try to do better when it came to dressing modestly. After all, if you're always in the presence of God, wouldn't you always want to be dressed accordingly?