I struggled about whether or not to write this post for a couple of reasons. The first is that my journey to wrapping my hair is an emotional one and happened through some tragic events and loss. The second is that I do wrap for religious reasons (my husband and I are Messianic believers) and I wasn’t sure I wanted to get really deep into that in my first post on this topic. Maybe I will address this fully in another post. However, if I am going to talk to you about wrapping in the future and why I love it so much, I feel that I must first explain my journey into wrapping. So, without further a due I will begin my story.
My journey to wrapping began, although I didn’t know it at the time, in January of 2016 with my first yet brief pregnancy which ended in an early miscarriage. Heartbroken but determined my husband and I continued forward with hope and soon I found out that I was pregnant again. Ten exciting and happy weeks went by before I once again miscarried our second baby in May. I was devastated! Within a 6 month period we had lost two babies and I was in dispair.
In my emotional turmoil I started to do a lot of soul and scripture searching and this is when I stumbled upon the headcovering message. At that moment in my life I think I really also needed something tangible to do to feel closer to G-d and to help me through my grief. It seemed as though I was being lead right into this world of headcovering.
My husband and I started to discuss together about me covering my hair. We did a lot of studying on this topic together from the religious perspective before finally deciding that this was an appropriate path for me, as an individual woman, and for us as a married couple.
Through this course of time (which was a couple of weeks to a month) of searching our hearts and scripture I had stumbled upon a company called Wrapunzel that sells tichels and other necessary items for head covering as well as accessories. From here I entered into the whole new and beautiful world of headcovering. The lovely women who run the Wrapunzel online store also have a Facebook group where they embrace women who cover from all religions and also those who wrap for non-religious reasons, such as medical reasons. Women from around the world come together in this group to share their daily wraps and encourage and inspire one another without any boundaries of religion to stand in their way. I joined this inspiring group of women who have truly blessed my life in so many ways and ordered my first tichels.
I could hardly wait for my tichels to arive and to dive in. When they came, I eagerly looked at the beautiful array of fabrics and colors and made my first selection for a head wrap. When I was done, I felt like my head was being hugged by G-d and I felt closer to Him than I had since the loss of our second baby. I inspected my handy work in the mirror and decided that, for a beginner, it wasn’t half bad. Since then I have continued to improve my skills and continue to practice and learn. I have found that I feel more confident and beautiful in my headcoverings than I ever did with my hair.
Shortly after beginning this headcovering journey I was pleased to discover that I was pregnant once again for the third time in one year. It has been an incredibly strong pregnancy from the very beginning and is the child I am currently carrying at the time of this post and will be delivering in a few short months. The beginning of the pregnancy was full of anxiety but she has grown and thrived despite all odds and the complications that I have faced throughout. Covering my hair has helped me to feel protected and loved by G-d throughout this pregnancy and in turn that my baby was also being protected.
So, why do I cover my hair? I cover in memory of the babies that I lost. I cover for the baby that I currently carry and will soon be bringing into this world. I cover to feel confident and beautiful. I cover to honor my husband. But most importantly, I cover to honor G-d and to feel closer to Him.
Shalom! 🙂
Shalom Mama 