"Skirt Girls"

When I was in high school, my sisters and I used to have a special name for the girls we knew who came from more conservative families. We did not mean it in a bad way, or in a demeaning way. We just latched onto the most obvious descriptive characteristic--that they always wore skirts.

These girls always seemed "perfect" to me. They were homeschooled (as was I), but they were set apart from your typical teenie-bopper in other ways, as well. Many of them were not allowed to go to college, but they didn't seem to care. They were too busy serving others or helping with the family business. They were always sweet and unselfish and obedient (probably not always, but that's what I thought). They were also extremely friendly. There were never any exclusive cliques among the skirt girls (BTW...If you wanted to include both men and women in this group, then you called them the "Skirt People." I know...it doesn't really make a lot of sense:)

I never felt like a Skirt Girl myself, although I was certainly not part of main-stream culture either, as a Christian and a homeschooler. I often wore pants or shorts. I listened to secular music. I never thought I was a sweet enough person--or a good enough person--to be a Skirt Girl. Plus, I really wanted to go to college. So there I was: suspended somewhere in la-la land between the Skirt People and all my mainstream-minded peers. I didn't know where I fit in!

It's a funny thing, thinking back. It took me several years to figure this out: (Actually, I'm probably still figuring it out, but at least I'm more secure in my identity now than I was back then!) Nobody can truly be classified as narrowly as my sisters and I used to imagine. Skirt Girls have their own issues, just like everybody else. We're not meant to be cookie cutters of each other. But we are meant to learn from others as we seek to grow closer to God. That's what it's all about: our relationship with Him. If that's cared for, then the little imperfections will be subect to His chisel; We will grow in character, and our purposes will be made more pure.

Whether a woman grew up as a Skirt Girl, or was a promiscuous high school drop-out--if she is God's child and she seeks His face in her everyday life--He will refine her into just the person He wants her to be. He will fit her into His body. She has a story to share and things to teach others.

I have learned so much from my friends with difficult pasts. For one thing, they are often SO passionate about the things of God, because they understand more what life is like without Him. I have also learned many lessons from the Skirt Girls in my life--namely, how to have a servant's heart and seek to be an encouragement to others. And as for myself, I trust God that He hasn't truly stuck me out in la-la land: He has a plan for me, as well, if I stay close and allow Him to do His work in my life.

P.S. As the years go on, perhaps I have actually begun to adopt at least one element of my former Skirt Girl stereotype: I now want to wear skirts a lot more, and have rarely worn pants in the last few months. Not because I believe it's wrong, but because I feel so much prettier in skirts. I feel feminine. And I don't feel entirely out of fashion either. I think it's wonderful that skirt designs have become more common, and more stylish these days, because I refuse to ever wear the "Homeschool mom skirt/jumper" OK...now we're just getting into more stereotypes from my past...and I won't go there! ;o)