Swans in Dogs Clothing

by Jeffrey Hilton

I remember one day in sacrament meeting I noticed a woman I had known of for years walking in. In the past she had come across as plain and unattractive. She would look as though she had gotten out of bed, thrown on random clothes and come to church. On this particular fasting testimony day she wore matching clothes, did something with her hair and wore makeup for the first Sunday since I had met her. “Wow!” I thought, “Maybe I’ll have to ask her out some time.” As the meeting proceeded, she got up to bear her testimony. She announced she had been dating some one and just recently got engaged. Knowing I had missed my opportunities to ask her out I reflected on the situation. Why did she suddenly put forth effort to look nice now that she was engaged. If I had seen her like that before I would have asked her on a date. That is when I realized the answer. She had been concerned about her appearance outside church and was noticed for it. When it came to church, she didn’t want to be asked out. In a way it was unfair. She had robbed the men at church from the opportunity to see her at her best. Now that she was showing her best she was giving us men a metaphoric slap in the face. I looked at other women in the congregation and wondered how many of them were actually rejecting me by looking their worst.