An Anthem on Women's Day
It's Women's Day, and since we're in a season when what it means to be female is a hot topic, I wanted to spend a little time writing out a prayer here for you and the women in your life. I'll be honest, this originally started out as a prayer for my daughters, but as I began to think about it I realized I was praying for all of our daughters, our sisters, our mothers. All of us. So without further adieu, an anthem for my girls on Women's Day.
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Happy Women's Day 2017,
May we be women who relish in who God made us to be, women who don't adhere to stereotypes, women who live lives full of joy, generously giving away the gifts that are entrusted to us.
May we be strong women.
May we find that strength, real strength, isn't in getting our way or being right; it's found in being rooted in something greater than ourselves. May we learn that strength is both the grace to admit when we're wrong and the formidability to stand firmly for what is right. May we spend our strength and power for the good of others, rather than hoarding it for our personal gain.
May we always know that we are at our strongest when we are locked arm in arm with one another rather than pulling each other down to get to the top.
May our steps be guided by a faith that knows that all things were created to worship. Our creativity, our gifts, our very breath was made to bring glory to God and point to His goodness. May we lead, write, sing, engineer, teach, dance, study, lift weights, run, paint, create, analyze, heal, assess, counsel, fix things, and fight for justice with our utmost. May we give our best not because we want to be better than whoever is standing to our left or right, but because we know that when we bring our best we lift each other up. We work hard to the glory of God, not man or woman's praise.
May we LOVE our bodies and personalities and know that all of our quirks and differences make us beautiful. They point to a brilliant creator instead of a flawed design.
May we cheer each other on, recognizing each other's gifts without a sense of jealousy. And when envy arrises, because it inevitably will, may we fight against it, ultimately choosing the betterment of others over ourselves.
May we be women who love and know God's word and as a result are able to know and love each other fiercely. I pray that we are people who learn how to forgive and give grace like it's going out of style. What a world we could create if we loved and forgave like Jesus did!?
May we be faithful with the lives and gifts we've each been given. I pray we look back at the end of our days and see a life well spent. May we be generous with our time, money, emotions, energy, and resources and spend them on things that matter. May our investment in each other and this world grow in generations to come.
May we love God above all other things, looking to Him in every situation. Knowing that the highest highs and the lowest of lows were all ordained by Him. Because of that, we rest. We rest in a good Father and know that we are loved by Him. When suffering comes, we are grieved but not destroyed. We stand firmly rooted in truth amidst the torrential storms that life throws at us.
May we do all this and more because we are women, made in God's image. We have gifts to offer our churches, our communities, our families, our schools, our politics, our world, because we were designed and gifted by the most loving and creative God on High.
Let that fuel us!
In a generation that strives for recognition and the stage, let HIS LOVE motivate us to be faithful in both the little and big things, wherever He has placed us.
We are women. Hear this roar. Our battlecry is not our own; it is soft and loud and humble and strong, and it proclaims that our God is GOOD. He restores all things. There is nothing too broken He can't fix. And one day He will right all wrongs. THIS IS OUR ANTHEM. It is our life's work. It is every thing we are working towards.
We are women, smart, strong, beautiful, creative women. May we continue to be strong women with eyes focused on Jesus, looking to Him in all things.
This, this is my prayer for you, for us. Happy Women's Day, my sisters!
Much Love,
