Random Reasons, Part 4

"Doesn't that make you hotter in this weather?" the bus passenger asked.

This conversation occurred hours after the first round, which I drove in a vehicle without AC with internal temps reading around 113. That's the highest I've ever seen in a bus. It might actually be the top of the scale, so that it could have been even more. Later in the day, the replacement bus was a more civilized 83 degrees.

The surprising basic answer is: Actually, there are only a few days every summer when I am ready to tear it from my head because it feels like it is adding to the burden of the heat. Other than those rare times, it offers a little protection from direct sun. And I've never had a sunburned "part" in my hair since I began wearing it. Small but nice benefit. My hair stubbornly parts itself, even when firmly brushed and tied straight back. For this reason alone I will never be mistaken for a birthright Old German Baptist, since their hair always obediently flows straight back from hairline to covering edge to bun.

The more complicated answer is that the covering offers a unique line of defense against the heat. Being cotton, it absorbs and evaporates water quite effectively. So when the heat bothers me, I just whisk it off for a moment, soak it down with water from my water bottle, the hose, etc., wring it out, and put it back on. Probably no one has ever noticed that it was wet. But unless the weather is terribly humid, it makes a huge difference in helping my body keep at a functional temperature.

The passenger's follow-up comment was, "That string under the chin would drive me crazy!"

It took a little getting used to. Going through that transition in the mountains of British Columbia, where (no matter what they say) it is never too hot or too humid was a good start. I found in my first few coverings that the exact fit has a lot to do with the comfort of the strings. The little bit of elastic at the nape of the neck is a nice modern touch on my Old Order River Brethren style covering...the Old German Baptists have just a rigid binding at the back, so there's less flex in the chin strings.

Sometimes, like my OORB friends, I'll untie the strings for awhile when I'm in a semi-private setting. Some denominations never tie the strings, but leave them hanging down loose. Some have a long continuous ribbon that loops across the back of the shoulders without holding anything, or ribbons that are tied loosely at the collarbone--purely vestigial. Some cover just the back of the head, and not the ears like mine does. Most women, but especially these, rely on a straight pin at the top of the front to hold the covering firmly to the hair. It doesn't seem like it would be effective, but it is. I like the OORB style for its plain, practical work-a-day functionality. It stays on because it is tied on. And I can make them myself.

The firmly tied strings do serve a spiritual purpose, I find. Though they are not distracting, I do notice them as I move my jaw. Which means whenever I speak, there is a subtle reminder to consider my words, and be sure they are becoming to a godly woman. The slight tug of the strings reminds me that I am a light to the world that is not hidden under a bushel--when people see me, they know at a glance, from a distance, that I am a Christian. It behooves me to make sure I am comporting myself in a way that honors Christ. In this way, my every moment in the world at large is a witness to my faith in God and His son.

Random Reasons...part 3

Because it keeps my hair clean...or at least no one can tell whether it's clean or not.

*****
This is a small but important part of living simply and conserving resources. I don't have to wash my hair as often--saves time and hot water and shampoo. I don't have to dry it as often--saves energy and time.

In my way of life--farming, or sometimes just the fact of having short-term visitors stay with me--there is also the avoidance of "ick factor" to consider. As demonstrated today:

Since I'm transitioning to a much smaller home this year, I'm swapping big furniture for small with my daughter. They brought the bed over to switch out today. Well! Obviously I hadn't vacuumed under the heavy bed for a long time--GROSS! Off I trotted to get the shop vac out of the garage to eradicate the dust dragons (they were WAY beyond bunnies) before installing the new bed.

It sounded really strange. I mean, not like I've ever heard a shop vac sound before. Dust started spouting from the exhaust port--wait, no, that's not right; I have one of those wonderful ultra-fine filters on this!

I stopped and unplugged it and peeked in. EWW! It was fully of pennies and cigarette butts (a visitor had casually mentioned cleaning out a friend's car a few days ago...), and the filter had fallen off so it had been venting that foul blend at me...plus the garage floor residue that I'd vacuumed last week. ICK!

I took the filter out to the barn, where there is an air compressor and a lot of fresh air, and blew out the filter. That worked really well to revive the filter, but then I looking like a close relative of the dragons under the bed. YUCK!

By the time the bed exchange had been completed, it was less than half an hour before I was supposed to be at a meeting in town. There certainly wasn't time to wash and dry my hair--there was barely time to jump in the shower. But quickly tying on a clean covering let me feel like I wouldn't offend the people next to me at the meeting.

At least not with the cobwebs, dog hair, and cigarette butt dust in my hair.

Random Reasons...part 1 in a series

I wear the Rainbow Covering because...

...1 Corinthians 11 sez so. I'm so rebellious in general...always have been, always will be unless a miracle occurs...that when I realized there was a rule in the Bible about women that I COULD obey, I grabbed it quick!

...it makes "bad hair days" a moot point. Though not impossible, since my flyaway hair sometimes frizzes out from under it in a most untidy manner.

...it helps people understand that I really DON'T watch TV and have NO idea what they are talking about.

...it also helps people realize right away that I "march to a different drum" in many ways. Before, they would assume I was "normal", and then we would spend a lot of time and energy getting acquainted before they realized they really didn't want to hang out with me after all. Apparently my presence tends to remind people of all the stuff they don't want to do, or don't think they "should" do, but do anyway and then feel guilty about (cussing, drinking, all that "immoral" stuff the Bible lists). So they'd rather go away from me and not be reminded of what they think their "sins" are, instead of accepting that I accept them as they are (at least as long as my personal boundaries are respected).

So, with the covering many folks don't even try to have a conversation or be friends. The ones who want to learn to know me despite the covering are more likely to actually "get" who I am and what I'm doing, and respect me as I am. Of course, there are always some who approach because they think I can somehow intercede for them with God..."Pray for me, will ya?"

Ah, humanity! Too often we find it easier to believe in an angry God than in a loving one! Too often we doubt the power of our own clumsy prayers, and believe that some other human's prayers have more value to God! Whole churches have been founded on these ideas...but as for me, that is not what I understand from the gospels.