Headcoverings

I've been pondering something for a while now.

It started with a conversation with my 15 year old. I was trying to explain modesty. Because different people and cultures define it in so many different ways. I was explaining how women (especially girls) should try to dress modestly so that when seen they are viewed as more than their body.

My daughter is already an amazing artist and fantastic individual. I know as her mother I'm biased but she has one of my favorite personalities ever. She's quirky and weird in her own way, sensitive to others, quick witted and extremely well read. Somedays she wears feathers in her hair. She's fascinated with language and I never know if she'll answer a question in English, German, Japanese or some other language.

She's amazing.

On top of that she's cute. Really cute. I can't pretend I haven't seen heads turn. And while she dresses more modest than some of her peers I want to instill in her *why* modesty is important. It isn't as simple as, "because we don't dress like that" or "because boys will think the wrong things". It has nothing to do with me as an authority trying to control her.  Dressing modestly is an external choice to reveal an internal truth. I want the truth of her to shine through. I want others to have to look a little longer, have to listen a little deeper to what she is saying. I want them to see her beautiful soul and not just a temporary flesh.

And as she's navigating these teen waters I'm more worried about her being comfortable in her own soul than in her own body. Her body will grow and change. Time will wrinkle her skin and dull her hair. But internally she will only grow in richness.

And of course, I cannot consider my teen daughters modesty without considering my own.

At some point I stumbled upon the tradition of headcoverings. I read a lot of articles pro and against headcovering. All the nuances.

The overwhelming point I read in post from women who had just started head covering was how they felt like more of them shone through because less of them was exposed.

I think about how I feel in my most comfortable jeans and shirt. The shirt that is long enough I'm not constantly tugging... the pants with the extra long inseam that never show my shockingly pale legs. I am comfortable in these clothes because I'm not worried at all about "wardrobe failure". But is there something deeper there? In a culture that worships youth am I unconsciously denying young women a balanced look at maturity?

While I'm a fairly liberal Christian could it be that maybe my beliefs have come from a tradition that "threw the baby out with the bathwater" and that there are hidden benefits to headcoverings? Is there something I'm missing?

So I decided.

January 1st 2015 I will attempt 21 days of headcovering. And of course, I will blog about it and use instagram to document my wins and fails.

Feel free to add me on Instagram or if you wear headcoverings for religious or secular reasons I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to know your motivation.

If you want to play along please use the tag #21dayscovered so I can find your post.