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Why I’ve Chosen To Wear a Head Covering (Almost) All The Time…

Why I’ve Chosen To Wear a Head Covering (Almost) All The Time...

[Guest Author: This article was written by Amanda Gardiner. If you’re interested in guest writing for the Head Covering Movement please contact us.]

Amanda Gardiner

Amanda Gardiner is married to Jeremy, the founder of the Head Covering Movement. She’s the proud mama of four little chickens (two chickadee girls and two rooster boys). She is passionate about biblical manhood and womanhood and the importance of headcoverings in maintaining that belief in our fallen world. She’s a health nut, singer, homeschool teacher and sells Norwex on the side 🙂 On any given day you might catch her watching Magic School Bus with her chickens, baking some kind of healthy treat or leaving the library with two more bags of books.

Ladies, I’m not sure how to describe my feelings about writing this. My heart is on my sleeve here (or rather, on top of my head) so please bare with me as I attempt to get my scattered thoughts down on paper. I’m no writer….unless you count one sentence Facebook posts about my kids “writing” and I’m no theologian either so I hope this comes across coherently.

Before I begin, let me start by saying that I believe that head covering is required for local church gatherings, not all the time. If you are unsure of what to make of this I recommend this article. The reasons why I now wear my covering more often are NOT based on new Scriptural discoveries, the convincing witness of church history, or the request of my husband. Nope. They are almost all “feels”. I FEEL this way. It makes me THINK such and such. etc. This means that this article is NOT meant to be ammo for you ladies to use against your reluctant husbands ( of course none of you are here looking for that….right?) or to convince your nay sayin’ bff how wrong she is. This is MY thoughts lived out in MY life. I hope it provides clarity into the mind of someone like me.

So here are three reasons why I’ve chosen to wear a head covering (mostly) full time:

  1. It’s a constant reminder: I am super forgetful. If my husband asks for a sandwich he knows he needs to follow up with me after the first half hour or so because i usually forget around four times before its done. Wearing a covering forces you to remember things….some of which we might rather not. This forces me to think on my subjection to my husband. It is a constant glaring reminder of who I am SUPPOSED to be. My mind stops me when I want to roll my eyes, and put my hands on my hips, because he asked for a bowl of Ramen noodles when i just finished cleaning the kitchen. I am constantly faced with a visual reminder that I am to be living a life submitted to my husband “as unto the Lord” (no small order) and this causes me to be more cautious and patient in my replies to him and others as well.
  2. It’s like wearing a Christian T-shirt. All. The. Time: talk about humbling. That awkward moment when you’re at the local Walmart and everyone that glances your way has their eyes bounce from your face, to the top of your head, then back to your face. Most will know instantly that I am a Christian, and those that don’t, will most certainly know I am “religious”. When they see me out driving, speaking to my family at McDonalds (if we ate fast food…..which we totally don’t do…..every Sunday) and just living life, people are forming opinions of Christianity by seeing me. It is a silent witness. This accomplishes two things:
    a) It means that I am more conscientious in living out my faith in public when stress would otherwise get the best of me. You are certainly less likely to let your tongue lash out at your bickering children when wearing a giant “I LOVE SERVING JESUS” shirt and head covering is just the same.
    b) It is an awesome conversation starter!! Though Christian T-shirts are optional, some people wear thought provoking ones daily in the hopes of evangelizing. I am hoping that covering will lead to many conversations as well! I hope to show unbelievers (especially false converts) that Christianity is a radically different faith with a radically different way of life! Wearing a visual symbol of one of Gods more “unpopular” doctrines really puts it all out there. Also, I hope to have conversations about this neglected doctrine with other Christians. I want to show other Christians that not everyone that covers is a frumpy legalist who doesn’t believe in the internet. Some of us are just normal folks who serve a radically amazing Saviour.
  3. Because I have a weak conscience: yup you read that right. Some people think that those who wear a head covering all the time are more spiritual and holy. While some women ARE convinced by a different understanding of the location demands of the text, a great many of us are simply those that WANT to cover all the time. It is a choice we have made, often for many of the same reasons listed here. Sometimes our conscience can convict us of something that the Scripture does not expressly command or forbid.  There is just something in the pit of my stomach that feels “off” when my head is uncovered when we pray over the meal or petition the Lord for his mercies.  I just have an unexplainable desire to veil myself first.

    “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.” (Rom 14:1-6 NIV)

    Imagine two sisters in Christ. One believes she is given the freedom to enjoy wine and loves to have a glass over dinner with her husband. The other believes she CAN enjoy it biblically, but her conscience is pricked each time she sees the bottle on the table with feelings of guilt. The Bible says that “whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Rom 14:23). This means that the dear sister who feels guilty drinking wine ought to abstain from it in obedience to conscience. However, I DO want to point out one problem that I see all the time. Many of us with weaker consciences that abstain from certain things tend to “look down our noses” at those who partake freely (as though our lack of participation makes us more godly). Scripture actually says the opposite! The Bible says that the one who is overly scrupulous is the one with the WEAKER conscience. It never says the weaker person is right OR wrong for doing the “harder” thing, but it DOES say that we should allow that person the freedom to follow their conscience in obedience to Christ because that is who they will answer to.

So that’s it friends. That’s why I’ve decided to cover my head “full time”. I hope that God will use my “veil” as a silent witness as I live my life. My conscience is tender and my mind quick to forget so I have chosen to cover (almost) all the time. For a succinct little summary of reasons that mirror my own (by someone MUCH smarter than me) click this link here and fast forward to the 41:00 mark. I don’t look down on those who cover only for corporate gatherings (in fact I believe their biblical case is stronger) and all I ask is the same respect towards me; the freedom to follow my conscience in obedience to my Master.

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