She revisited

By Iteti:

Writing is awesome!

Why?

It jogs my memory; takes me back to things, people and places long forgotten – verses, prose, decisions, resolutions. It reminds me of the things I was thinking way back when I seemed to have a clearer head than I do now. It reminds me of the woman I aspired to be back then, still aspire to be, but lost somewhere along the way. Writing reminds me that it's not too late; that certain things can be revisited every now and again, if only to gain clarity. In this case, clarity of both mind and purpose.

She revisited…

Making practical sense of Proverbs 31 has for a while now eluded me. She seems so perfect; so together; so unlike me. She's a perfect 10 … and then some. How is that attainable?

As I read the chapter over and over, I landed on verse 30 ~ “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” It stayed with me that one. It's the seek first His kingdom kind of verse. The kind that reminds you to go back to the source and everything else will be provided for; the one that reminds you that priorities are important and once you've got them in check, the rest is catered for. It's the kind of verse that makes you want to scurry back to the manual, read and re-read until you've memorised every word. Then go back out there and switch yourself on to see how well you can operate.

Read the manual. Revisit the definitions. Revisit the truth.

Sometimes I feel like a woman's purpose is to exude beauty; to reflect it, like her role is nothing else but to help others realise that beauty does exist in this world. She should perch herself up on a fence and make the place look pretty. Woman. As if her role is simply to be beautiful, pleasing to the eye and the heart – to make grown men sing songs of love in high pitched tones.

The truth is that beauty lies way below the surface and being beautiful and praise worthy are things every woman wants. Getting there is a story of its own.

Woman. She desires to be desired and to have the things that make her desirable. What is it that makes her desirable? Her makeup? Is it her clothes? Her perfume? Is it the way she wore her hair today? Jesus is the answer? Cliche? Yes, because it is someone's truth. It is her truth. Her every desire is fulfilled by Him.

Woman. She is a vision of beauty

A vision warped by what they say a beautiful and intelligent woman should look like; Magazines, music videos and soap operas. Should she only cater for her bank balance and the slightness of her figure? Pleasing every Tom, Dick and Harry; Mary, Jane and Irene who “matter enough” to garner her attention? A vision warped by a multitude of opinions on the subject – Woman. And, what box shall we fit her into? Defined by chauvinists, feminists, politicians, sexists, rapists and religious extremists. The role of a woman is one of the greatest debates, not just by men, but by women themselves.

I am woman and I am who God says I am – Beautifully and wonderfully made by Him, with my slim figure or thick waist, nappy or straight hair. I have a calling that is divine, one that lives in the very heart of the Most High. I am called to nurture, give-care and to bring forth life. I will not be ashamed to bare swollen feet, an ample bosom or look as gigantic as an elephant while I carry this child inside me. I will not be afraid to kneel before my man and serve him his dinner out of the overflow of my love for him. I choose to submit and devote myself to his care; to make him the head that I support because HE. IS. A. MAN – my man and no one else’s. The thing that I treasure, the one I will take care of. I will not fight to look, act, sound or talk like him because I AM WOMAN and there’s a difference. I know my place, I know who I am, I know my worth and no one can take that away from me.

Nothing is ever enough until it is given away…to One much greater than one's self.

“I refuse to conform to the patterns or the standards that this world sets for me. However, I choose to be transformed daily, hourly, by the renewing of my mind. Then will I be able to test and approve what God's will – His good and perfect will – is for me.”

**the end**