The next time he asked me to cut it, I asked what about I Cor. 11? By God's Providence, my husband's parents had started attending a church that taught that women needed to cover their heads for worship with a cloth covering or a hat. So my beloved asked me to research covering on the internet. I showed him articles saying the hair was the covering. I also showed him articles saying it wasn't. The arguments against had 2 main points. One, if hair is the covering, then men should shave their heads to pray. The second argument was that the word used where it says the hair is given for a covering is a different Greek word.
My husband rejected the point of view that covering was just for that time and culture. We don't say the Lord's Supper, mentioned just a few verses later, is for that time and culture only. Why would we say that about headcovering? I think it is interesting to note that most women wore some type of covering on their heads when they went out until the 20th century, when women's lib started.
So my husband concluded that I should start covering my head for anytime I prayed. He also asked me to cover whenever I would "prophesy", or tell forth God Word. We feel that can include anytime I am talking about God, as I am doing here, and as I do throughout the day as a homeschooling mom. Once we realized how often I would want my head covered, and seeing no instruction to be uncovered when not praying or prohesying, he was fine with me covering full-time.
I now wear a covering most of the day. I sleep with my covering on because it is comfortable and keeps my head warm. On cold nights, I throw a fleece covering over my cotton one! LOL
My hair is waist length, but I do cut it from time to time. I don't believe my hair needs to be as long as possible, just long enough to look distinctly feminine. For me, that is shoulder length or longer. I braid my hair in two french braids and pin or clip them to my head and put the covering over it. I don't feel braiding is bad, because my braids don't "adorn" me - they are concealed by my covering.
I cover most of my hair, because it is my glory. I conceal my glory so that it doesn't distract men from God's Glory.
A few years ago, I read this essay in World Magazine: http://www.worldmag.com/2007/06/a_symbol_of_glory
Here is my favorite part:
"I read in 1 Corinthians 11 that the woman's head is to be covered in worship. The modern Christian consensus tells me that is a relative and obsolete command, dealing with some first-century problem in the city of Corinth. My high-school literary skills tell me otherwise: The command is rooted in creation (verses 7-9) and in nature (verse 14). And if that weren't ironclad enough, I am to cover my head "because of the angels." The angel detail is so cryptic, so off the wall, so without explanation, that it becomes the strongest argument of all. Where is the "cultural relativity" case now, where angels transcend all historical agitations? "
In case you are interested, I cover mostly with bandanas. I buy them at craft stores like Hobby Lobby for about a $1 each. I mostly wear solid white or black, but I do have patterns I wear to coordinate with different outfits.
