Under His Cover ~ A Guest Post by Tiffani-Joi

Welcome to Purity Week! I'd like to introduce our first guest-poster, Tiffani-Joi. Tiffani is one of my "second sisters." She has a lovely style of writing and expressing herself, and has a beautiful spirit. To learn more about her, scroll down to the bottom of her post (but make sure to read the actual post!). Thank you so much for writing, Tiffani!

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Purity has many different facets.  Mental, physical, visual, spiritual, modesty, etc…  A commonly overlooked act that supports our call to purity is: being content to stay under the cover of our fathers.

While this is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, I believe that it is still very important.  Our relationship with our heavenly Daddy is supposed to be similar to our relationship with our daddy on earth.  And since our heavenly Daddy is our Protector, our Shelter, our Provider, the One who disciplines us when necessary; it makes sense that our daddy on earth should do the same.  

So I started thinking of why our daddy/daughter relationship wouldn’t be mentioned in the Bible.  Then as I was talking with my parents during our Bible time this morning my mom mentioned how in older times, women rarely left the house they were raised in until they got married.  The father was the cover until that cover was passed to the girl’s husband.   It probably wasn’t mentioned, because it just “wasn’t done.”

But then women started growing more ‘independent.’  They started getting more self-sufficient.   They started no longer ‘needing’ their father’s protection, because they could take care of themselves.  Now, please do not misunderstand me.  I’m not one of those girls who think that women are to be nothing, but little housewives, staying at home all day.  The Bible says that women are equal to men in His sight, so of course I believe women should have the right to vote.  =)  But I’m certainly not a feminist either!  I believe there is a fine line between the two.  In whatever we do, we are to do it for the Lord.  Whether we work outside of the home or we are homemakers, either way as long as we are still submissive to our husbands, and submissive to our Father first and foremost, we are pleasing in the Lord’s sight.

I am so grateful to my Abba Father for giving me a daddy that loves me enough to want to be my cover.  That he takes that ‘job’ very seriously.  I’ll be completely honest & admit that in the past I might’ve wanted more “freedom,” but I don’t anymore! 

We daughters need to remember that our Father in heaven calls our daddies to be this way.  I think I, as a daughter of both my daddy on earth and my heavenly Daddy, forget this sometimes.  I forget that when my daddy doesn’t want me to drive to a certain place by myself, it’s not because he doesn’t trust me, it’s because he wants to protect me; the world is sinful & unpredictable. 

I used to think that he was being a little over protective a couple years ago, when he didn’t let me and a friend walk around a mall by ourselves.  Looking back I can try to justify my reactions and emotions by saying I was growing up…it’s natural for a girl to want a little independence here and there.  After all, it wasn’t like I was asking to move out of the house, get an apartment & become roomies with my friend…I just wanted to go to the mall.  But now I see there was no justification.  My thoughts were those of discontentment.  And I was wrong! 

Now that I’m older, my daddy is letting me do more things on my own.  I can drive, so I’ve “gained some independence” I guess…  But believe me, I’ve also gained more awareness.  I remember that I’m still under my daddy’s cover.  I’m a daughter of the King.  So I need to be careful, with how I act, how I dress, how much attention I call to myself (even if it’s unintentional).  It is a sinful world, and I now have a better understanding of just why protection for young ladies & women is so important.

{If you don’t have an earthly father in your life, don’t think that you don’t have a covering.  Your heavenly Father is the best cover there is.  You might need to listen more attentively to hear Him.  Not all people can hear His voice as audibly as a daughter could hear her daddy.  But He isn’t always subtle either.  All the same principles apply.  He has the best intentions for you & knows what is best for you.}

Daddies might have different ways to cover their daughters.  I’ve never been allowed to go to a camp.  I’m not saying it’s wrong if your daddy lets you, and I’m definitely not upset with my daddy for not letting me go.  I know that he just wants to keep me under his cover, until he passes that cover of protection over to my husband. 

I love my daddy so much, and one of the reasons why he is so special to me, is that he understands my longing, my wish, my striving to stay pure.  And instead of not caring, or just letting me struggle on my own, he helps me by protecting me.  By being a voice of reason, when I might stray towards being reckless.  He is the closest physical image I will get of my heavenly Father until I meet Him in heaven. 

Let me encourage you!  If you start to feel like your daddy is being over protective, just remember that he is doing what our heavenly Father has called him to.  He’s not trying to keep you from growing up (well, he’d probably like to =) ), he truly wants to protect you.    Remember that while we might think our days drag on, while waiting for our Prince Charming to come & sweep us off our feet; our daddy’s days are speeding by, watching his little baby girl grow into a little princess, then she matures into a little lady.  Then she turns into a young lady.  Then a homemaker in training…and sometime after that she becomes a young woman who is ready to become a wife & mother.  And while we may think we’ve been waiting & watching for that moment more than anybody else, we’d be wrong.  Our daddies are just as watchful, because they know that when that day comes our husbands will be just as grateful to them for keeping us safe, as they are to us for waiting. 

Au Revoir…Until next time.
Many Blessings!
Tiffani

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Tiffani is a daughter of the Most High King.  She loves sitting at her Saviors feet, listening to His voice, & following His leading.  She also enjoys theatre, novels, God-honoring music, fellowship with her brothers & sweet sisters in Christ & precious time spent with her family.    She hopes that if you decide to stop by her blog, that you will be blessed by the overwhelming embrace of her Abba Father God.

To read more fromTiffani, visit her blog Embraced by Him, and be blessed.