Holding to Standards is Rewarding

Today I took my three-year-old daughter to buy a swimming suit.  She starts swimming lessons in a few days and we didn't have one for her.  I took her to a store where I knew we could get cheap suits since we are on a tighter budget at the moment.  (Who isn't in this economy?)

We found two really cute ones, and she had one that she was just in love with.  As I started messing with the suit to see how much it cost, I realized we had picked out a bikini.  The way it was on the hanger it looked like a one-piece.  I was bummed, since it was only $8.  I told Anna we couldn't get that one after all because it wasn't modest.  She understood and said it was okay to get the other one.  As I messed around to find the price tag on the second one (also only $8) I realized that it was ALSO a bikini.  I was torn.  Do I get the cheaper suit here at this store?  This second one would almost look one-piece when she was wearing it because of the way it was designed.   I also wondered if we would find a modest one-piece at any other store in this morally declining era we are living in.

In the end, I decided we had to try, at least.  So I told Anna we needed to go to another store to try to find a modest swimming suit.  She was a little disappointed about not getting the suit she had been happy about, but she was a trooper and understood we needed to find something modest.

So we went to Kmart.  Normally I wouldn't plug stores, but we love Kmart at our house. :)  We went to their swimming suit section.  This time I looked through to check for modesty before I even showed Anna the suits.  Right off the bat I found FOUR modest one-piece suits in Anna's size. In fact, in Anna's size there was only ONE two-piece suit for sale.  Anna found one she liked (Dora, she was so excited they had a DORA suit. :D) and tried it on.  It was the perfect size, and only $15 dollars.  That was more than I had wanted to spend, but hey- she was so much happier with the Dora suit and it was a MODEST one.

As we checked out, Anna was telling me how we'd gotten a modest suit.  As a mom, I was so happy to hear that she caught on to the concept.  Then we heard the price.  LESS than $8.  The suit was on sale and I hadn't known that.


I held to our standards, and not only did we find a suit Anna loved even more than the first ones we looked at, but I spent less money total than I would have at the cheaper store.  If we hold to our standards, we are blessed.  The blessings aren't always as immediate as they were for us today, but they still come.  Always hold to your standards.