Women are Warriors

Warrior - the image that comes to mind is that of a brilliantly painted Native American, astride a proud horse, headed into battle. Or maybe a knight clad in shiny armor, riding away to slay the threatening dragon. However, strange as it may seem, recently I have recognized within my own heart, and the heart of other women, the heart of a warrior.

With great weariness one night, I complained in prayer about the amount of time in my life that I have spent struggling to improve relationships, attempting to vanquish evil from my home, and fighting uphill battles against impossible odds so that others can know success. It was a moment of selfishness in my prayer time, a moment of weakness, I confess.

God answered me in two ways: the first with a gentle reminder from scripture. Galatians 6:9, "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." In a strange way I felt relief - obviously God knew that we would grow weary doing good and would need encouragement to persevere.

But the second answer was incredible: I saw that women are made to be warriors. God put within us the heart to knit our family together. We have the vision for unity and peace in our home. God has given us the perseverance to hold tight to our family and friends when they need stability. Women are brave. We leave fear and trembling behind to face down the wolves that come into our home and into our children's hearts.

I thought of women that I know, women that have sacrificed much so that their families could be whole. I thought of Biblical examples of women with warrior hearts - Abigail, Esther, Deborah, and Ruth. I realized that God designed us to desire the best for those closest to us. We see them not as they are, but as God intends them to be. This is not the same as wanting to change our mates or children (a recipe for disaster). This is encouraging, strengthening, loving, and supporting our family in a quest for God's heart.

When the nights are long, and my faith is weak, I want to remember that God designed me to be a warrior.

What woman has been a warrior in your life?

Verbal tipping - Is it a God-thing?

So today I was talking to an awesome friend in the food industry who was joking about verbal tipping. You know what that is, right? The customer says, "Hey, the food was awesome, you're the best waitor ever," and then leaves you a couple of bucks or better yet, a gospel tract. Of course, in this example, the verbal tipping is not such a great thing.

However, I got to thinking about this and realized that as believers, we could certainly stand to practice more genuine verbal tipping with one another - giving each other heartfelt, genuine compliments. About 6 months ago, I noticed that I was really struggling with gossip - not being intentionally mean or unkind, just getting carried away in my conversations with friends. There it is - I said it out loud - I have confessed to you all. (Does anyone really read this stuff?) Then I began to listen in on other people's conversations and heard a lot of, "Did you hear that... ", and it was almost always followed up with a negative comment.

So I have gradually felt convicted and tried to start practicing verbal tipping. It has had pretty mixed results. On the negative side, people are not sure what to say back when you give them a real compliment - more than "I like your haircut." They also seem to be uncertain about whether I am being genuine or not and sometimes even seem embarrassed that I am impressed by them. On the positive side, I have found that even people who portray tons of confidence and have great talent need reassurance that they are being noticed and appreciated. They in turn feel wanted and valuable. The verbal tipping has opened so many doors for me to be able to share God's love with others and to be able to hear people's doubts and uncertanties and pray for them.

I don't know how long it will be before my new habit of verbal tipping replaces my old habit of gossip. I've heard that old habits die hard and this is one that about the time I think I've won, I catch myself doing again. And I do know that the verbal tipping certainly has to be genuine and heartfelt so that it doesn't seem fake and overdone. However, I want to attempt this challenge of loving people with my words. I want to learn to see other people's strengths and how God values them.