“My legs are sooooo cold!” the young lady shivered. There she stood in the church foyer, in her knee length skirt, with her legs totally bare, and sandals on her feet. And it was mid-winter!
“My dear girl, why don't you put something on your legs to keep them warm?” asked a lady that was standing nearby.
“Oh, no, I can't!” she exclaimed. “It just wouldn't look good.”
“Who told you that, young lady?” asked the kind woman.
“Well, uh, I guess I'm not sure who told me. I just know it. All of my friends just know it's not cool to wear anything on our legs when we have skirts on.”
“Maybe it's not cool, but it sure can be cold, can't it?!!! And I think I know who told you that you must have bare legs when you have a skirt on. Would you like to know who she is?”
“Well, I guess, since she's the one who is making me so miserable. Who is she?” the young lady was still shivering.
“Her name is Fashion, and she's a cruel tyrant. She cares not one bit for your health and comfort. All she cares about is your unquestioning obedience. She promises to make you beautiful and appealing, especially to men, if you will just obey her. But she requires the slavery of your soul. And in many cases, she demands that you sacrifice your health in order to follow her.”
“But if I don't obey her, I'll look really weird, and my friends will make fun of me.”
“You seem to care very much what your friends think of you. But what about what God thinks? Is that important to you at all?” The kind lady touched the girl's arm gently.
“What do bare legs have to do with God, anyway?” the young lady's face had a puzzled look on it.
“Let me explain it this way,” the older lady began. “God cares so much about your comfort and health that He sent some special messages to you. And these messages are specifically about bare legs! He never intended that you suffer from cold legs!”
“Really?” the girl was surprised. “Why haven't I ever heard about these messages before?”
“Well, it's probably because we, as your teachers, parents and leaders, have let you down. Most of us don't know about these messages either, even though they're straight from God!”
“That sounds pretty important. I mean, if God went to all the trouble to send messages to us, it seems like we should want to listen to them.” The young girl was interested. “Would you tell me more?”
“Certainly, I'd be glad to. Let's sit down right here, and you can cover your legs with my coat as we talk.”
“Thank you!” the girl gladly accepted the offer. After they were settled, she said, “OK, I'm listening.”
The lady continued, “You're right. We should be eager to listen to God's messages. But, you see, Fashion speaks in the same way the serpent talked to Eve in the garden, flattering us and appealing to our pride. So, if we're not close to Jesus, and listening to Him, we can't help but listen to Fashion. And Fashion tells us to do things that are just the opposite of what God tells us to do.”
“Well, I'm beginning to see that Fashion doesn't deserve my obedience. I've been following her for a long time. I want to listen to what God has to say about this. Would you please tell me more?”
The kind woman smiled, and reached for a book, filled with messages written by God's prophetess. She opened it and drew the girl's attention to several pages of quotations. “On these pages, God impressed Sister Ellen White to write to women in particular about the importance of keeping their legs warm and covered. She explained that it was for the sake of modesty and health. Do you know why it is important that we keep our legs covered?”
“Probably to keep us from being so miserable, like I am right now!” the girl declared.
“Yes, but it's even more than that,” the lady explained. “You see, if you put on a warm coat that comes to your knees, you probably wouldn't notice how cold you legs really are. That's what a lot of girls do. They put on plenty of clothing on the rest of their bodies, and then they hardly notice that their legs are cold. And that's really dangerous.”
“Dangerous? How could that be dangerous?” she seemed incredulous.
The lady pointed to some words written in the book. “Look right here. God told Sister White to write more than 20 separate times about how important it is for girls and ladies to keep their legs covered. She said they should have as much or more covering on their legs than on the rest of the body. And she explains the reason.”
“Oh my! There are lots and lots of pages there. If God told Sister White to tell us something over 20 times, it must be important!” the girl was all ears.
“You see,” the lady explained, “God designed our bodies in such a way that the blood needs to circulate to all the parts, and it's the heart's job to pump the blood. But when we don't cover our legs, the blood in the legs gets chilled. It takes a lot of work to get the blood warmed up like it's supposed to be. So the heart has an extra work-out. But it's not a healthy work-out. It drains the heart of energy in trying to move all this cold blood around. The heart rebels against this extra work. So it doesn't send as much blood into the legs as it's supposed to. And that can cause many health problems.”
“Hmmmm, that's interesting. I never even thought about what is happening in my body when my legs are cold. I guess God knows about that much better than we do, since He made us! And to think that Fashion tries to make us do things that are actually harmful to us!”
“It's amazing to see how many follow along with Fashion without question. But God has given us clear counsel to help guard us from unhealthful fashions. Just listen to what God's prophetess tell us:
“ ‘Satan invented the fashions which leave the limbs exposed, chilling back the life current from its original course.' {CG 427.1}
“ ‘There is but one woman in a thousand who clothes her limbs as she should.' {RH, February 6, 1900 par. 12}
“Wow! That's incredible!” the young girl's eyes opened widely.
The lady went on, “God clearly explains how important it is to keep our legs, and our arms equally covered. Listen to this:
“ ‘The limbs, being remote from the center of circulation, demand greater protection, instead of less. The veins which convey the blood to the extremities are large, providing for the flow of a sufficient quantity of blood to afford warmth and nutrition. But when the blood is chilled from these parts, the veins contract, and the circulation is retarded. Not only do the extremities suffer from cold, but through lack of nutrition the limbs do not attain their natural development. A good circulation purifies the blood, and secures health; while a poor circulation renders the blood impure, and induces congestion of the vital organs.' {CTBH 91.2}
“ ‘If any part of the body should be favored with extra coverings, it should be the limbs and feet, which are at a distance from the great wheel of life, which sends the blood through the system. The limbs should ever be clothed with a warm covering to protect them from a chill current of air.' H. R. {HL 124.1}
“ ‘Perfect health depends upon perfect circulation. Special attention should be given to the extremities, that they may be as thoroughly clothed as the chest and the region over the heart, where is the greatest amount of heat.' {2T 531.2}
“That sounds pretty clear to me,” the young girl exclaimed.
“Yes it is. And God also wants us to keep our legs covered for the sake of modesty as well, because His prophetess said,
“ ‘We have decided that health and modesty require that women clothe their limbs as thoroughly as they do other parts of the body.' ” {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 13}
“It's quite obvious that I shouldn't be going around with bare legs if I want to be healthy and modest. I'm just amazed that I've never heard this before!”
The wise lady nodded. “Yes, it's very sad how we've neglected these precious messages from God. There is much more that is written by God's prophetess to help us understand how God wants us to dress. God doesn't want us to be slaves to Fashion, because He knows that Fashion is the devil's tool to destroy us. The only way we can know God's will is to read these messages from God.”
“Well, does God really care about how we dress? Are there other things that I've never heard about in this book?”
“I'm sure there are! Would you like to come to a class where you can learn about these things?”
“Yes!” the young girl sounded eager. “And I would like to bring my friends with me!”
So the lady arranged a time and place where the young ladies could learn about these wonderful messages given to them from God.
“Thank you so much for being willing to say something to me about my cold legs,” the young girl smiled with sincere appreciation. “I'm looking forward to learning more about God's counsel to us on dress. By the way, the next time you see me, I'll be covered and warm! And my legs will never be cold again!”
To read the quotations in the Spiriti of Prophecy regarding covering the limbs, click here.
For some practical advice on how to keep cool during hot weather while covering your limbs, click here.
