Women

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

As we head out of this Mother’s Day and head back to our regularly scheduled lives, I would like to say “thank you” once more to those who have walked, are walking and will walk in the calling of motherhood. And to those who have for any number of reasons not been called to be a mother, please know that you, too, are appreciated.

I know that you are overwhelmed. I also know you live your life in fear that you will not measure up to the impossible standard of womanhood you carry.

Your heart breaks because you don’t feel like you could ever live up to the high calling of a wife or mother.

You struggle with the social pressures and desires of your mind for your career and the desires of your heart to be with your family.

You struggle with the expectations of appearance vs. your desire for comfort. You want to feel and look beautiful, but you don’t want to be objectified or passed over because of your appearance.

And all of that makes you feel like a failure as a woman, because it feels like you are the only woman who doesn’t have it all figured out.

But what you don’t understand is that through the blood of Jesus, your heavenly Father sees you as you were created to be – who you were redeemed to be.

He doesn’t see your failures.

He doesn’t count your imperfections.

He doesn’t compare you to anyone else.

God sees you as the woman you believe you can be – or maybe as the woman you think you could never be.

Whoever you are, in whatever roles you are called to serve, God has gifted, equipped and called you to serve there.

You have been saved by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus.

And Jesus died to save sinful women; to save women who lose their temper too easily with their children and women who resent their husbands; to save women who never feel adequate and women who are obsessed with appearances; to save women who carry too much and women who don’t do enough; to save women who feel they have to be strong and women who feel too weak; to save women who feel like they have to hold everything together and women who feel like if they stop moving 100 miles per hour they will fall apart; to save women who struggle to leave abusive relationships and women who are terrified they’ll go back to them; to save the women who are offended by this post and the women who needed it.

Women like you.

You are loved and you are forgiven. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are a marvelous work of God. God has called you to be uniquely you and not someone else. He has called you to trust in His great love for you – and He has called you to show His love to those around you.

So thank you for being who He has called you to be (whether you feel like it or not), and thank you for being in our lives.

May the God of grace and mercy bless all women, Amen.

Happy Mother’s Day.