More A Matter of the Heart than the Head
Early in my time at Shevet Achim the matter of head coverings became a matter of much discussion. Most of the ladies being affected by the decision had pretty strong opinions about the subject, since none of us were practicing covering our head during prayer. Remarks like, “It’s just a piece of material” had both pros and cons to it. Why do it or why not do it- if it is only a piece of material. We were all given time and opportunity (more than once) to pray into the question and attitudes of our hearts and come back to the table for additional discussion. I cannot remember all the details and emotions of that time but I remember the way I determined to think about the decision that was made having no idea how it would change me.
If my choice was to submit to authority of the organization or leave, to me it was an issue of lesser importance. I reasoned 1.) It was not sin, 2.) It was just a piece of material so don’t exaggerate it, and 3.) This person in authority has to answer to God for the decisions, not me, and I can see he is prayerfully moving toward the decision to be made.
“The virtue of any teaching is in its’ ability to either equip you to do God’s will or empower you to find God’s heart.”-Frances Frangipane He continues to say, “Revelation that causes an awakening, a change of heart, an elimination of what was previously held in error or seen dimly- generally can be trusted as genuine.
The change of heart, for me, began with submitting to authority. As I began to participate in the practice of covering my head during our corporate time of prayer, something else began to change in me. I was often reminded of the statement about “covering our Glory so only the Glory of God was seen”. I didn’t even realize I had any glory to cover and it changed the way I saw myself. As it changed the way I saw myself, it changed the way I saw the mothers living here. I used to want to see them just take off that “symbol of faith in a religion that leads to death”. But with the change that took place within me, I began to see them as beautiful women seeking a God they do not know. I saw them as women of the times when Jesus walked through this very place. Any one of them could have been just like the woman who reached for the hem of His garment in search of what she needed. And finally, I realized, they are no different than me. For I still seek a God I need to know and that is what they are doing. So I ask of my Father, when I see them kneeling on their prayer rug, or crying by their child’s bed (and many other times), “Please meet them, Jesus, right where they are. Reveal yourself to them, so they can know the Father, the God they long to know.”
And now I have been equipped to do God’s will, to humbly build relationships without judgments, in love, whether my head is covered in prayer or not. It is a matter of the heart.