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    The author and her family walk a rural road in New South Wales

    Why I Love to Wear a Head Covering

    By Norann Voll

    July 13, 2016

    Available languages: español

    7 Comments
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    • Daniela Anicic

      Hello Noranne. Your post is beautiful. The Holy Spirit has guided me to cover my head at all times. I have struggled with the judgment from others however am trying to persist through that. I want to wear a head Covering at all times, not just in prayer. I was a gym addict and wore revealing skin tight clothes my whole life. I was ostentatious, and painted my nails red. Since being with the Lord, I have become modest, submissive to the lordship of Jesus and understanding that my hair is to be covered. I work for the government and am struggling to gain the courage to cover my head at work. What advice do you give me in terms of professing my faith and love of Jesus? And how can I cover my head at work? In fact, I love the way I look with my new head Covering! I believe women should cover their heads at all times and only reveal their long hair to their husband. I am single and have take a vow of chastity for my Lord. So for me, it's time to cover my head moving forward. I am so inspired by your message. It would be great to speak with you about this. I look forward to hearing from you. God bless Daniela

    • Annette Young

      We are living in the 21st century not the early 20th! The clothes you choose to wear do not necessarily make you closer to Christ. The Bible has to be read with discernment and the customs then do not all apply today. It was common for women in the middle east at that time to cover their hair. It was also okay to keep slaves! No woman today would think it inappropriate to wear pearls, apply makeup or wear attractive clothes. I for one do!

    • David Taylor

      I am a liberal Christian. I actively support all women trying to throw off cultural patriarchy to embrace their freedom in Christ. However, this was a wonderfully written article. It was irenic and informative. I never felt Norann was being disingenuous when she said this was her personal decision. Her use of logic and Scripture never seemed like a back door way to shame others who disagree. This is the way brothers and sisters should talk about their differences. I would like to hear her explore the community dimension of her choices. The limited space given to exploring that theme might indicate a bit of innocent naivete and also minimize the struggle others have who are coerced by the community to dress in such a way. However, Your love for Jesus shows in your devotion to your family.

    • Reva Mirti

      I commend you for doing what you are doing. I've read the Scripture often and contemplate each time what I should do with it. I don't have issues about how I look or how long it takes me to get ready in the mornings - I'm simple - no makeup, no fancy hairstyle anyways - straight, long hair... I would do it for the Biblical reasons if I did it... to show submission to my husband.

    • Helen M Collie

      Isn't it wonderful how we are all different? Every person and every culture is different, even within the same community/country. I applaud you for doing what makes you feel closer to God. For me a head covering would be restrictive and very confining. I also do not follow fashion or wear make up. I usually wear jeans and a tee shirt. I try to do the work the Lord has for me to do. Thank you for your perspective. There is room for all.

    • melina

      There is an incongruency to the story above. The woman wears homemade clothes, but the man wears store bought jeans and, I assume, shirts and jumpers. I believe that's why people ask her if it's her choice... because she alone displays her faith in this way. Why doesn't the man also wear homemade clothes? Why don't they display, as a family unit, their faith in Christ through similar clothes, both modest and homemade? At least the Amish? are united in this effort and because of that nobody thinks it's a prison sentence for the woman. Alternatively, there are many modest, lengthy skirts that can be bought from stores. Many scarves available for purchase. Why, in the husbands attempt to honour Jesus is he buying from commercial outlets but somehow she can only honour Christ if she wears homemade? This is the problem. People question this because they see the inconsistency in this behaviour, even if they can't quite put their finger on why it seems so.

    • Michele Douglass

      While I can sympathize with your motives, I must say that if I saw you - here in the United States - I would not think your clothing or head scarf announced that you belonged to Jesus. I would think you were Muslim.

    I have walked through cities and villages, restaurants and rainforests in the United States, Europe, and Australia, and I have always been stared at. That’s because I wear a head covering and a long skirt – and, more often than not, I am holding a man’s hand.

    My husband and I have been married for almost eighteen years, and we love to walk hand in hand. When I hold Chris’s hand, we joyfully proclaim that we belong to each other. By the way we dress, I hope we also make it obvious we belong to Jesus – or at least obvious that we don’t subscribe to fashion trends.

    I’ve lost track of how many times my clothing and head covering have given me opportunities to tell others about the reason for the hope I have, to witness to just how much I love Jesus. That’s one of the blessings of dressing differently.

    Wearing a head covering is not an omen of oppression, but a flag of freedom.

    Of course, many people who wear “normal” clothes are far bolder than I am in reaching out to others and sharing the good news of Jesus. This is not to say that I’m a better person for covering my head or wearing homemade dresses, or that doing so gives me a golden ticket to heaven.

    So what motivates me? Head covering and modesty have been longstanding concerns of Jesus’ disciples from the very beginning. The apostle Paul, who continued Jesus’ example of honoring women, writes to Timothy, “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Tim. 2:9–10), and to the Corinthian church, “that every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head” (1 Cor. 11:5).

    I know Christian women the world over bristle about these words. I realize, too, that the account of one person’s experience isn’t going to change that. So let me be clear that, while those Bible passages certainly inspire me, my desire to cover my head comes not merely from reading the scriptures or early church history but from my own conviction, and the answer to what motivates me is actually pretty simple.

    Wearing a head covering and dressing modestly make me feel liberated. For me, it’s not an omen of oppression, but a flag of freedom.

    It offers freedom, first of all, in the sense of being rightly related to my Creator and enables me to maintain an attitude of permanent worship. I like to think that the twenty minutes I spend prayer-walking my way to work each morning – when I luxuriate in the holiness of God’s own house with its great blue sky domed above me and the zebra finches bickering incessantly on the fencerows – are minutes I’ve stolen from the mirror. I don’t wear makeup, and I don’t have wardrobe or hairstyle decisions to bog down the start of my day.

    Second, it offers freedom from comparison, that ever-lurking “thief of joy,” because I am not beholden to any fashion standard, nor am I setting an example that makes another woman feel unworthy.

    And, most blessedly, it offers me the freedom to allow the right relationships of other men toward me and, ultimately, freedom from the enslavement of objectification. In other words, by endeavoring to dress and behave in the manner I feel most honors my womanhood, I hope I am inspiring men to behave like true men.

    By covering my body, I’m saying my confidence doesn’t come from fashion or fitness, but from a deep sense of knowing I am worthy for who I am, not what I look like.

    Like a temple adorned from the outside with decorations that denote worthiness, my clothing consecrates, communicates, sets aside, and sets apart. By wearing a head covering, I am making a clear statement to the visible and invisible world that my allegiance is to God.

    But having said that, my head covering has not separated me from anyone, or prevented me from forming deep and strong friendships with many amazing women and men the world over. They know that for me it is not about piety or perfectionism, but a reminder of the grace that covers me every day. They respect me because they know that dressing simply gives me a great sense of peace and belonging: belonging to God, and, as a married woman, belonging to one excellent man.

    By covering my hair, I’m saying my hairstyle doesn’t matter, but my mind, heart, and character do. By covering my body, I’m saying my confidence doesn’t come from fashion or fitness, but from a deep sense of knowing I am worthy just for who I am, not what I look like. Wearing a head covering says that I not only accept but love the woman God has created me to be. And it aligns with my belief that dressing with modesty, dressing with the deepest respect for myself, will in turn awaken respect in others.

    Of course, I still get stares, and sometimes “You look so beautiful!” or, “Your clothing is just so peaceful.” But always, always, I get great questions, and I love the opportunity to tell people why I dress the way I do.

    The question I’m most often asked is, “Do you have to?” What I hear is, “Is this really your choice?” I fully understand the question, especially as I’m part of a community in which all women wear the same modest style.

    The answer is no, I don’t have to. I wear what I wear because I choose to, for the reasons mentioned above, and for another reason too: so that my three sons see that the love of Jesus, and the deep love and respect of my husband, are all I need to feel whole.


    Photos courtesy of the author.

    The author and her family walk a road in New South Wales The author and her family, New South Wales, Australia
    a girl in a pink dress with a bamboo fishing pole by a pond

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    Contributed By NorannVoll Norann Voll

    The author is a writer living in Elsmore, New South Wales, Australia. A version of this article appeared on the “Voices” blog at www.bruderhof.com, the website of the community that publishes Plough.

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