Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Plough Quarterly • Summer  I have walked through cities and villages, restaurants and rainforests in the United States, Europe, and Australia, and I have always been stared at. That’s because I wear a head covering and a long skirt–and, more often than not, I am holding a man’s hand. My husband and I have been married for almost eighteen years, and we love to walk hand in hand. When I hold Chris’s hand, we joyfully proclaim that we belong to each other. By the way we dress, I hope we also make it obvious we belong to Jesus–or at least obvious that we don’t subscribe to fashion trends. I’ve lost track of how many times my clothing and head covering have given me opportunities to tell others about the reason for the hope I have, to witness to just how much I love Jesus. That’s one of the blessings of dress- ing differently. Of course, many people who wear “normal” clothes are far bolder than I am in reaching out to others and sharing the good news of Jesus. This is not to say that I’m a better person for covering my head or wearing homemade dresses, or that doing so gives me a golden ticket to heaven. So what motivates me? Head covering and modesty have been longstanding concerns of Jesus’ disciples from the very beginning. The apostle Paul, who continued Jesus’ example of honoring women, writes to Timothy, “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Tim. 2:9–10), and to the Corinthian church, “that every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head” (1 Cor. 11:5). I know Christian women the world over bristle about these words. I realize, too, that the account of one person’s experience isn’t going to change that. So let me be clear that, while those Bible passages certainly inspire me, my desire to cover my head comes not merely from reading the scriptures or early church history but from my own conviction, and the answer to what motivates me is actu- ally pretty simple. Wearing a head covering and dressing mod- estly make me feel liberated. For me, it’s not an omen of oppression, but a flag of freedom. F    B     N OR AN N VO L L Why I Love to Wear a Head Covering The author and her family, New South Wales, Australia