Hats

This Sunday the women in my church will all wear hats. Not to make any fashion statement, but as a way of visably supporting our sister in Christ who has lost her hair from Chemo-therapy. I have searched my arsenal of accesories and found I don't have one appropriate for worship service.

I do have hats for the beach,gardening,assorted caps with logos of teams but not one that shows reverence and respectfully calls out a worshipful covering for my head. I will have to buy one. As I meditated on what this purchase really needs to be I found some personal insight to this show of support.

I live in Lancaster Pennsylvania, the home of many Amish and Mennonite communities. These women cover their heads daily with lace scarf snoods or bonnets. This is part of their culture and symbolizes that Almighty God is there above them protecting , guiding and caring for them. This covering is an outward sign to the world that they trust Him and recognize His authority. As a former New Yorker I have also seen the Orthodox Jews make such witness of their faith,as well as reformed Jews who also wear Yamakas. Other practices of faith include head coverings such as the Catholic Church did when I was a young girl.

The scriptures tell us that Christ is the Head of the Church. We are his body of believers. He is over us in all that needs to be accomplished according to HIS PLAN. It also regards women in such a special inclusion to recognize their covering, as a Husband over their wives or as a father over their unmarried daughters.

I began to ponder the depth of my own Husbands position as my covering. In a culture that offers so many freedoms to women today, I had one major thought. How do I reverence my husband as the direct head of my household? My second thought was what are the benefits of seeing him in this regard?

I quickly made a mental list of the different ways in which men and women respond in the process of healthy relationship. The scriptures say "husbands love your wives as Christ loves the Church and laid His life down for it". "And wives respect your husbands". I take from those verses a basic command that shows me to have Christs model of harmony and purpose as we are called to respect our mates.

Some days I don't even like my husband! Come on now, I'm just keeping it real! Days when he throws a wrench in the works of my plans, like walking across a just washed floor in dirty boots, or times when I have had a hundred things to do and he can't fathom the importance of it all! Or how about when I'm trying to be serious about a concern and he laughs and makes jokes! Sound familiar? Yea, it's because we are challenged to make known to our hubbys how to love us!

Men are not mind readers!! And the truth is that we keep forgetting that. But that does not absolve us women from our part in showing respect to them. It is respectful of us to open up to them in a loving and gentle ways about our heart issues. To give them time to truelly know us and see inside us. To esteem them as responsible before God for their adjustments. As we are responsible to maintain a regard for the lessons of life and love our Lord wants to apply in their lives. If we can simply wait for God over them to bring that love into them for our benefit, we can reap the rewards of a harmonious union.

I want to give you a personal example of how this model works. We as a couple were approached by one of our children for gas money during this past cost increase period. We had felt that our expenses needed to be limited in this area. My husband didn't want to place new restrictions on our kids over this issue, so he gave the teen the cash for gas. Instead of argueing with him I stopped driving around town. I began to walk to mail items, I made careful loops on days when I needed to use the car, and I frequently would call on him to pick up milk , or bread on his way home from work. He had held me to support the household budget-yet didn't see that his pride in giving to his kids would have effect. The next time our children came to us for gas money my husband suggested they get air in their bike tires, get some excersise, and save the car for practical uses.

My husband knew deep down that we needed to partner in this issue, at the time I also knew that I needed to respect him in the budget. I held up my end of the deal and God held up His ,God brought about the ownership and knowledge of the decision to have the kids come under their fathers leadership. My husband saw in me a gentle spirit of support and his heart was touched to trust that I was with him as he worked out his position on behalf of our family.

Because my husband can trust me to share my ideas without manipulation, he is free to love the real me! I am free to respect and honor this man as one who is doing his best to provide, protect and offer me the oppertunities to grow in Christ as his wife. I have more freedom in being the woman of God I am because of the way I allow him to lay his life down for me. If a major decision needs to be made I know I am covered by God as well to see the best result because I walk in obedience to the Word.

Well, I think that when I don my hat on Sunday, I will do it as an expression of Faith , the kind that reminds me I am a humble servant of the Lord, looking to Him to work out my friends healing. Knowing that no matter what that may look like I can trust His plan. Standing before a powerful God and seeing His tenderness toward those of us who recognize our position in unity. Allstate has nothing on God, I know with Him we are in good hands!