Bikinis

Okay....we've made a switch over here. It's minor in the large scheme of things ...you know like life and death issues....tsunamis....Aids.....world hunger.....poverty......etc. but major in my/ our? spiritual lives. At least....that's how it feels. There's been another turning point. Mom has had an epiphany.

I used to prance around in bikinis thinking I was all that. You know....I enjoyed....maybe even took glory in the fact that I was somewhat adorable.

When I was a young mom the Lord saved me from myself.

Within the first few months of life w/Jesus at the wheel....my newly saved husband, parents and I took the boys... along with a 13 year old cousin of ours to a Christian summer camp for a week. We sang along with... and mourned the loss of..... Rich Mullins....a brother we had never met....the entire drive up through the majestic redwoods....praising the King of Kings for his creation.

I'll never, ever forget the moment a group of teen aged counselors approached our lounge chairs the next day...politely telling us in so many words that my cousin's tankini and that my low cut one piece were inappropriate and that we were not allowed at the pool again in such a state. We were mortified. Oh my GOSH!!!!!! Stuff like this was all new to us. It never occured to us that we might be stumbling blocks to young men!!!!!!! Horrified to say the least. We covered up as best we could with our limited supplies and probably never made eye contact with the counselors again.

Since that day 11 years ago....I have worn one pieces. Cute yeah.....but always in the back of my head when choosing a style were these teens who had put this mama in her place.

I told this story to a two of my son's stunningly beautiful "girl" friends last year. These girls are adorable...more adorable than I ever was....and especially cute in "itsy bitsy" bikinis. A couple of us moms were "concerned" that our now hormone ridden sons might not be needing the extra help as far as the "teeny weenies" were concerned. Truely, I love these two and I did not want my son and his guy pals doing any more ogling than they were already doing. I was passing down wisdom....lessons learned first hand.

Over the last year....we joined a heath club where there are swimming pools. We're in 115 degree desert heat and many, many cute ladies sit by the pools watching their children splash around. Many of them in bikinis. I began to notice that I had developed a less than stellar opinion of such gals. I had sat back in my cute one pieces more times than once passing judgement on the two piecers. Pride had slowly seaped in....but was exposed to my heart in a flash. As far as bikinis went....I was a finger pointer. And lo and behold......so were my girls. They had begun to make little "private" comments about other children who's families obviously didn't live by our bathing suit standards.

Believe me....I know what it is like to have fingers pointed. There were the counselors.....and then.....the one "well intentioned" lady in Oklahoma who was very upset with me because I had the nerve to show up to Sunday services in a sleeveless shirt...which in her eyes was very "unholy" and cause for great concern. There are all the others who I'm pretty sure haven't really taken much of a liking to my style....the chunky heels....low rise jeans....and let's say largish hoop earrings I wear on occasion. At least in private...they haven't. They are the ones who nod knowingly when us girls get together and discuss whether or not we are "thong" moms. There are some who gawfaaw and turn beet red because they are more old fashioned/conservative than that....but they hand out high fives and "you go girls!" freely and sincerely. And then there are the ones who don't say anything but just smile. Yep, it's easy to spot a finger pointer. It takes one to know one.

So to cut this long story short....I decided to confront my pride head on and went out and stocked up on bikinis this summer. Each girl in the household got some and if I do say so myself...we are pretty darn cute in them. I reckon we think we're as cute as the girls covered in cloth from neck to ankle think they are.


And guess what? That creepy perv, Warren Steed Jeffs is one of the biggest oglers of them all and those poor young objects of his lust have never seen a bikini in their lives.

As with anything....it's a heart issue. Where do you find your glory?