Skip to main content

Gifts; Women

The women in my life are amazing and I thank the Lord for them(almost) daily .

There's the woman who thinks hard and deep, then asks me things like "do you think we'll know each other in heaven?" The woman who is going through deep waters and yet her heart is calm because she's taking the Lord at His Word, and believes He has only the best planned for His people. The woman who is a good secret-keeper. The woman how has an opinion about everything. The woman who hurts for others and the woman who takes charge. The woman who never wants to offend anyone. The woman who's life cry is "speak Lord, for your servant hears" and then opens her Bible expectantly. The woman struggling mentally, the woman who is hurt deeply, and the woman with bags under her eyes as her children run. There are women who look like they've got it all together and women who openly ask for prayer. Some are raw and open, others struggle to share their hearts.

Image result for young and old women together

All these different women are in my life and I praise God for them because they each bring important things to the table. The easily discouraged woman reminds me to pray for her and others, and the woman who meets with God expectantly urges me to copy her example.

They also bring different things to the table in terms of their abilities and gifts. One is artistic, the other good at math. One connects the theological dots quickly, another wants to practically apply the core truths to her life. One writes cards and emails and texts of encouragement, another is always welcoming people into her home, another prays for you. In our differences we make up for what is lacking in each other, and through our differences we bless those around us. 

Some women feel they don't have anything to contribute, which breaks my heart because it is such a lie. The entire Bible was written to women as well as men. We are all part of the family of God and each part of this family is needed. 

Woman, we need you. Your church needs you. God has put you where you are for a reason. 

It is entirely probably that you have encouraged and blessed others in ways that you will never know.  I am so, SO thankful for the women who are in my life, with all the different spices they bring by simply being who they are. And I am glad that we get to run to heaven together. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Body Image (1)

Contentedly situated in lawn chairs with our toes in the sand and the baby playing on a blanket at our feet, my friend and I watch her girls digging holes or running between the beach and the lake. Periodically, the girls run up to us to display the shells and rocks they've found. At one point, as the girls surround us, one of us adults comments on the baby being chubby (which she is, as a baby should be) after which one of the girls looks at me and says, "you're kind of chubby." She wasn't trying to be rude or smart, she was just being bluntly observant as children are. As I looked at I her and considered an answer, I thought of the baggage of body image that women have carried for generations, and I thought, I don't want her to carry this baggage too. I want better for her.   I replied, "you know, being a little chubby is actually a good thing. Our bodies function better and it helps keep us warm." This deep lesson was probably lost on her as she s...

Surprise Sin

Over Easter weekend I had the opportunity to visit my grandparents. We caught up over soup and egg salad sandwiches and then migrated to the living room with cups of tea. Gradually the conversation turned to a couple young siblings from their church whom they've observed seldom fight. Sometimes these kids do get angry or annoyed with each other and then they fight, but that is not their normal relationship. My grandfather made this observation, "isn't that just like sin? You are living your life of obedience and then all of a sudden its like sin gets the better of you." It was a comforting statement coming from my elderly grandfather who has been walking with the Lord for over 80 years. Even as a seasoned saint, sin still creeps up on him. But it has also made me think quite a bit. Sometimes I am tempted to think that if I do everything right (regular devotions, get enough sleep, listen to good music, eat well, have Christian fellowship, exercise) then I won't fal...

Delayed Grief

 Grief is a crazy thing. Sometimes you cry till you fall asleep, sometimes you're angry, sometimes you can't feel anything, and sometimes you're so, so tried. Grief is also unpredictable in that it can take a long time to heal...and sometimes it feels like its been healed and then you're crying on your way home from the grocery store and you aren't even sure why. Grief is not logical and polite and convenient. It interrupts our lives on its terms. A couple mornings ago I was thinking about how tired I am. I'm not weepy or angry or even really sad, just tired, and this tiredness is physical, mental, and emotional. Which surprises me because my life is actually really great and I haven't had anything in recent months to be sad about. However, the more I contemplated it,  I think the tiredness is a long term symptom of a deep sadness that I lived in a couple years ago. Which is the first thing I wanted to share with you. Maybe, like me, there has been nothing r...