Fearfully and Womanly Made

How do you deal with something you cannot change? Like being a woman?

Sometimes it even gets more complicated. It’s not just because you’re a woman, it’s how you look. It’s where you come from. It’s the colour of your skin. It’s your guts. I find it shocking and amusing in turns. In the short life that I have lived so far, I have realised that face to face interviews do not really work well for me. Because in the beginning, before they see the face, they love my work, they are satisfied with my credentials. But they meet me and well, I look unlikely, and so the frustrating cycle begins.

From clients to bosses and colleagues, it has been an interesting journey of discovery.

But it’s not as if I want so much to be such a threat. Or maybe I do. I have said before and you may quote me, that if I have a family and a battalion of kids, I would be very satisfied indeed. That sentiment hasn’t changed. But through the years I have come to realise that God has a sense of humour because some of my experiences have just been plain ridiculous. I don’t know if it’s to give me juicy material for all the stories I love to write, or to be able to see from the point of view of a friend who is going through a tough time, or so that I can offer sound advice to a young woman who is desperate for answers. Whatever His reasons are, I have completely embraced who I am, kinks and all.

The challenges have been real. They are still real. I had to do some soul searching recently when things got awry on a project I was working on. And it wasn’t my skill that was being called into question, it was the fact that I was a woman. But obviously, hardly anyone comes straight out to tell you why they have a problem with you so you have to figure it out yourself. If you notice, I am skirting the surface because the issues are still raw and deep.

Through it all, what I have realised is this: I’ve got a mission and no one is going to stop me. No one can stop me because I did not decide who I am. My heavenly Father did. So girl, wherever you are, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. There was a time I asked God whether I was more fearfully than wonderfully made because circumstances may make you want to question your raison d’être and whether you have the right to be who you are or where you are.

The simple answer is that you do. You have every right.

But how do you fight for it? How do you take what is yours? Through the good fight of faith. After all, we are women. Give or take, our strongest asset is not our physical strength. Our best asset is a relationship with a God who knows what’s going on with us more than anyone else, and who has the power to change things for our good. One of the favourite characters I like to portray in my books are protective older brothers. The ones who will punch another man just to protect you. They can sometimes be quite overbearing but you know that their interference and gra-gra comes from a place of love. There is nothing like someone standing up for you and we have all that and MORE wrapped up in Jesus, our Heavenly Older Bro. Here is an interesting thing I realised a while back. When God made woman, Adam was sleeping. So there was a discussion and conversation between God and woman that Adam never had the inside scoop on. So hey, lovely lady, don’t wilt because you are a woman. And if right now you are between a rock and a hard place, just turn to the One who will fight for you. Even those tears that the world despises, calling you emotional and weak? Those tears are a prayer. The most eloquent prayer to change everything for your good.

So Happy International Women’s Day to you! And certainly to all the men who love you to bits.

Stay high on the grace of God. And don’t forget to share and follow this woman’s blog (my blog!). I don’t bite, I promise.