Looking around at the world, my little world, where I live,
I find that it is hard to know what a woman should be. There is a pull to be so many things, and
expectations can be daunting. There is a
demand to be married while simultaneously not losing yourself or compromising
any goals you have set. The expectation to be a mom rings loud and clear, but
the expectation to be a career woman and make your mark in society rings just
as loudly. The pull to serve others and
be a part of community tugs at a woman’s heart, while trying to balance serving
her family. There is a call to be fit
and healthy while managing a budget and time schedule that serves everyone
best. The list goes on. Just as women
are known for being multi-taskers, the expectations on women are multi-faceted.
There is a secret about women,
something I’m not sure many people realize.
They are strong. Women are strong. They have that daily, in the little things,
get the job done kind of strength. Theirs is a strength that can go unnoticed
or unseen, but is a force that shakes the world all around them. Two of my friends are starting a business
while raising kids and loving their husbands and seeking to honor God. Another friend is working full time, from
home, while her baby is there with her.
She is balancing full time work and full time stay at home mom so she
can support her husband while he is in school.
Another friend is a teacher that is rocking the lives of the students
God places in her class. Another friend is a single mom, fighting to turn from
a life that has been tragic and hard and full of unhealthy habits. She is fighting to give her daughter a better
life, a life that honors the Father who pulled her from the pit. One of the strongest people I know is my
mom. She began motherhood as an eighteen
year old and has raised four children in a way that exudes strength and love. She has supported my dad and helped run his
business. She has been a stay-at-home
mom for as long as I can remember. That
job gets little respect most of the time, but she has shown such strength in
being a steady foundation for her family.
She has four children who respect her and turn to her. She has been our mom, our friend, our counselor,
our doctor, our taxi driver, our fashion consultant and so much more. The thing I see in common with all of these
women is strength.
Strength takes many forms. I am always amazed at the physical strength
women can have when they put their mind to it.
If you don’t believe me, think about all those times you came home or to
a friend’s house and the furniture was all in a different place. Yep, she did all of that, by herself. Even more amazing is the strength I see
inside the women I know. Somewhere deep
inside of women there is a well of strength that never seems to run out. The hits keep coming, the voices keep calling
out, the phone keeps ringing, and there she is standing or kneeling, in the
middle of the storm, making her world a better place. Her kids cling to her. Her husband relies on her. Her friends turn to her. She kneels before her Heavenly Father asking
to be filled, asking for strength and patience and wisdom and joy. Then she immediately turns to the world
around her and pours every bit of what the Father has given her back out. She loves well and serves well and, at the end
of the day, falls into bed asking God for the strength to do it all again
tomorrow.
God created women in His image, and
they are beautiful.
Wow! Gorgeous writing, Jana! Just beautiful.
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