Spiritual Garment
by Jenny Schulenburg
They come in satin, silk, and cotton. Some drape over the body; others cover only the face. Women express their personal style by choosing various colors and patterns. They are sold outside of mosques, and worn as an expression of honor and respect. They are veils.
It was not long before arriving in Istanbul that I noticed veiled women strolling down the streets. When our mission team hosted an American Folk Song Sing-Along in a park near our hotel, I had the opportunity to interact with two young, veiled Muslim women. At first, we all felt awkward. What could we possibly have in common to converse about? So we sang together, and I discovered that they had beautiful voices. I shared with them my involvement in music, and any awkward feelings between us quickly dissipated. Through our conversation, I discovered that one of my new friends was studying to be a teacher—my same profession. Both of them were within a few years of my age. Gradually, I no longer saw them first and foremost as “veiled Muslim women,” but image bearers of their Creator.
All of sudden, my new friends and I seemed a lot more similar than dissimilar. I, too, once walked this earth wearing a veil. My veil may not have been a fabric head covering, but it was woven together by own sinfulness and it covered the eyes of my soul from seeing the truth of God. Thankfully, God is omniscient, and He peered deep into my soul, seeing past the veil that I tried to hide under. He removed my shroud of darkness and clothed me with His garment of salvation. The prophet Isaiah writes, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”
After that evening, as I walked through the streets of Istanbul and encountered veiled women, I began praying that God would remove the veil behind which they hide themselves and cover them with His righteousness, just as He had covered me.
PRAY
It was not long before arriving in Istanbul that I noticed veiled women strolling down the streets. When our mission team hosted an American Folk Song Sing-Along in a park near our hotel, I had the opportunity to interact with two young, veiled Muslim women. At first, we all felt awkward. What could we possibly have in common to converse about? So we sang together, and I discovered that they had beautiful voices. I shared with them my involvement in music, and any awkward feelings between us quickly dissipated. Through our conversation, I discovered that one of my new friends was studying to be a teacher—my same profession. Both of them were within a few years of my age. Gradually, I no longer saw them first and foremost as “veiled Muslim women,” but image bearers of their Creator.All of sudden, my new friends and I seemed a lot more similar than dissimilar. I, too, once walked this earth wearing a veil. My veil may not have been a fabric head covering, but it was woven together by own sinfulness and it covered the eyes of my soul from seeing the truth of God. Thankfully, God is omniscient, and He peered deep into my soul, seeing past the veil that I tried to hide under. He removed my shroud of darkness and clothed me with His garment of salvation. The prophet Isaiah writes, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”
After that evening, as I walked through the streets of Istanbul and encountered veiled women, I began praying that God would remove the veil behind which they hide themselves and cover them with His righteousness, just as He had covered me.
PRAY
Pray for Muslim women to trade their man-made veils for “robes of righteousness.”
Pray that God will continue to build bridges between Muslim and Christian women so that spiritual conversations can take place.
Pray that God will continue to build bridges between Muslim and Christian women so that spiritual conversations can take place.
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