1) Introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi! It’s Caro, the author of the modesty-French-blog “La femme modeste“. I usually describe myself as a “circus girl” as that’s what I’ve practiced since I was a little. I even used to work as a circus teacher which allowed me to travel a little bit. One highlight was teaching in Finland for a year. Today I am back “at home” where I am joyfully learning to serve my family and giving my free time for God’s things, such as promoting modesty and headcovering through my blog.

2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice headcovering there?

I go to a baptist church in my town which is very evangelism-oriented. A young women who practices headcovering recently arrived in my church, just when I started to deal with the issue. Her presence really encouraged me! So today there are two veiled girls in this church. There is also another woman who always wear a hat but I don’t know if she does it as a dressing habit or if she does it because of biblical belief.

3) What led you to start covering?

First, it was the enthusiasm and pride from Muslim women who wear the hijab that made me want to learn about Christian headcovering. Then I found a couple of testimonies from Christian women who never studied the subject but who felt in their heart that women should cover their head during corporate worship.
So I started to study seriously the subject with a very critical mind. For a year and a half I read almost everything I could find about headcovering from very different sources. But it has was Watchman Nee’s teaching that finally convinced me.

4) What was that first Sunday like when you showed up in a covering?

It was HORRIBLE !!! I am quite shy and discreet and I hate being noticed at church. I am too shy for praying aloud so you can just imagine how hard it was to show up covered with a veil in a church where almost nobody else does it! I know that some women would say “well this is just a piece of fabric, it is nothing”, but for me it was a huge deal! I spent the first thirty minutes super embarrassed, eyes down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. After the first 30 minutes had passed, I started to relax and then I felt okay!

5) Tell us about the practice of head covering in France. Are there any denominations that practice it? Is it typical to find even a few people that will cover in a typical evangelical church?

In France, headcovering is not a common thing. You can see sometimes a veiled woman here and there, but most of time it comes from her personal belief and you can’t associate her practice with her denomination or church. I don’t know of any big Christian denominations in France who approve of and teach this practice. The Christian assemblies where it is “normal” for women to be veiled, are more marginal denominations : charismatic groups such as Pentecostal church, gypsy assemblies, independent protestant missions, catholic communities called “traditionalist”, Brethren assemblies etc.

6) What counsel can you give to women that do not cover out of fear?

I have been this woman, convinced by headcovering practice but unable to cover because of fear. For the first few Sundays, I had to wake up earlier to spend half an hour in prayer, pleading with God to give me courage to obey Him. Still today, each time I feel a hesitation or fear about putting on my veil, I would wake up earlier on Sunday morning, and I would pray my Savior to deliver me from fear and to enable me to act in a way that pleases Him. By the way, it is a very good habit to keep, even when you stop being scared by headcovering 😉

7) What would you say is the best and the most difficult aspect about head covering?

The most beautiful aspect about headcovering, and at the same time its most disconcerting aspect, is it’s significance: submission. In a world overly marked by Satan’s rebellion, being the chosen gender who is called to carry the image of submission is a sublime privilege. Christ is the perfect model of submission: no one but Him has been so perfectly submissive to the Father ! What a glory in submission ! As a woman I feel very honored by this God-given responsibility to wear on my head what symbolizes submission to our Creator’s order : submission of woman to the man, submission of man to Christ, submission of Christ to the Father… If women knew the beauty and the greatness of the spiritual realities meant through the veil, more would want to wear it. But nobody knows what is really submission nowadays, for the world has so spoiled its meaning.

From that problem comes the most difficult aspect of the headcovering: the message of this practice is misunderstood. Veiled women make the angels happy, but they can also hurt brothers and sisters unfirmly instructed in their faith. Another difficult aspect of head covering, is an association with denominations or Christian groups who’s statement of faith we cannot embrace or who promote headcovering in a bad way (legalism).

8) What kind of covering(s) do you use? Where did you get them?

I simply use the same scarfs I always wear around my neck. When I go to church, I just put my scarf on my head and that’s it. But I am thinking about ordering a headcovering from Garlands of Grace because they are beautiful and more discreet than my hijab style!

9) You’re about to start helping us at the Head Covering Movement. Tell us what you’re going to be doing.

I offered my help to translate Head Covering Movement content from English to French. This idea immediately crossed my mind when I discovered the website for the first time a few months ago. After a long reflection time, I put out the offer to Jeremy to do translating work. I am glad that the contents from Head Covering Movement are going to be available for French-speaking people!

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