Wearing a dress is such a simple thing. But wearing a dress can help change the world. It can. Our Dressember team has surpassed its $1,000 goal! And, to date, the overall #Dressember movement has raised $650,000!
It’s no surprise, really. The world is full of amazing people who only need to know about a challenge to someone else’s safety, in order to rise up and meet it. Thank you so much, to those of you who have given. Today, I’ve invited a few of my lovely team members to answer the question, Why Dressember? In their own words, they’ll share what this movement means to them, why they’ve been sporting dresses all month long, and why even this small gesture matters.
When I heard about #Dressember, my first thought went to how inconvenient wearing a dress through a midwestern winter would be.
And then I realized too many things I do, in the hopes of changing this world, can be done without a lot of thought or effort. I’m not saying everything requires great sacrifice but if wearing a dress in winter is a sacrifice (or inconvenience), I realized I needed another reality check.
Truth be told, I love wearing dresses, particularly in warmer weather when knitted tights or fleece-lined leggings are not required. I love being a woman, and I love expressing my womanhood and femininity through fashion. It’s not the only way, but it is one way of embodying who I am. When I speak or preach it would be easier to wear pants and a shirt—no worrying about hem length or where the mic pack is going to go. It’s a man’s world, even when I go out to preach or speak. That’s one of the reasons I love to wear dresses, where the sound tech and I need to get creative about hiding the mic pack and being forced to rethink the norms. All because I am wearing a dress.
So I got to thinking about the inconvenience of wearing a dress during the beginning of winter. It was an invitation to rethink what it means to be a woman in this WORLD and not just in my little world.
Earlier this year, I read David Platt’s Counter Culture. I read about the mind-boggling prevalence of sex trafficking throughout the world–twenty-seven million people living in slavery today, according to The A21 Campaign. He reminded me of Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” God alone owns all of us. He reminded me that throughout the Bible, it is clearly stated that all people are made in God’s image and possess inherent dignity.
A serious issue. A gospel reminder. Now, what? From my very rural Nebraska home, I asked, Now, what?
My answer came when Deidra invited us to join her Dressember team. This was something I could do from my very rural Nebraska home! Then the excuses came: I didn’t have an “everyday dress,” I might be cold, no one would even see a homeschooling mom’s dress…. But, I couldn’t shake my initial enthusiasm, so I used my birthday gift to buy a dress, involved my daughters in choosing thirty-one days of accessories from my closet and, here I am, in Dressember, helping put an end to human trafficking from very rural Nebraska!
Changing the world is not a one person show. It is a process by which we start with loving one another. When we change from hate to love, we are making ripples in a wide ocean of deep blue loveliness.
The loveliness of Christmas in our home is not the same as in other parts of the world. Some women my age are in horrible situations. As Ashley Linne writes in her book Inseparable…
“Injustice permeates our society, even if we haven’t experienced it directly ourselves. It’s enough to make anyone really angry, isn’t it? Innocent children being victims of heinous crimes. Teen girls sold into slavery. Women beaten at the hands of their husbands, boyfriends, fathers. When we’re in Christ, something within us gets a little bit riled up about those things doesn’t it? When we see injustice, a part of us wants to get up and do soemething about it.”
Dressemeber is just that. It is many individuals rallying together to change the world. We wear dresses, document our days on social media, and give money to those that are on the front lines of helping women and children exit a world of injustice. Join us: www.dressember.org
I have always loved a beautiful dress, with the right high heeled shoes—no matter how uncomfortable. My mother’s motto was, “Cute will kill ya.” That meant, the right shoe will kill your toes, while you think you look cute.
I thought I was on the side lines as a Dressember team member, cheering someone else on to do the work, while thinking I look cute in my daily dress.
But, I’ve learned that human trafficking is a modern form of slavery. It involves controlling a person through force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the victim for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both.
Now, I will be more compassionate to that young woman or girl who refuses eye contact, is overly tired, or depressed beyond her young years. Instead of disrespect, is it a sign that something is wrong? Do I share a phone number for them to call and talk to someone at 1-888-373- 7888 National Human Trafficking Resource Center?
Now I know, I’m not just on the sidelines. I am on the team. By wearing a dress every day in December, I’m helping raise awareness. In a dress, I help those who reassemble the broken pieces of the fragile lives of those who escape the conditions human trafficking.
It’s been an honor to participate in #Dressember with these women, and with the other women on our team. I hope you’ll consider giving a small gift to help put an end to human trafficking. For good. Thanks so much for doing one small thing to help make a big difference. To learn more, follow @Dressember on Instagram, and read about the movement at Dressember.org.
