A Woman The World Can’t Comprehend
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.”
Proverbs 31:25-26 (NLT)
In honor of #internationalwomansday last week, I wanted to take a moment to highlight my ladies. March 8th was not a day to elevate women above men, but rather to acknowledge her for the things she has accomplished as an individual; to acknowledge her strength, edify her grit, and encourage confidence.
We are brave. We are bold. We are strong. I always make it a priority to find rest in the every day hustle and bustle… To just take a moment to sit and thank God for the woman He is shaping me into. During that time of gratitude, I was reflecting on what it means to be a “woman of strength.” I’ve heard this countless of times throughout my life and it’s one thing to hear it and agree with a catchy, uplifting phrase, but it’s another thing to accept it for yourself and to walk in that truth. I began to ask God, as well as my family, what a woman of strength looks like. I have come to find that there are a lot of things that make up a woman of strength, but here are just 5 things that I concluded:
1. Rather than waiting to become ready to endure a journey, she understands that it is within the journey that she will gain her strength.
I’ve heard it said like this: You can either ask God to lighten your load, or ask Him to strengthen your back. No journey will be perfect, and if its the right one, you will face conflict and struggle. But rather than waiting until you’re more prepared to handle the struggle or waiting ’til things get a little easier, understand that God will give you what you need to handle everything that is coming your way. You will find strength in the journey because when struggle is amidst, growth will occur. All you need to do is keep walking in faith.
2. Rather than not being afraid of anything, she shows courage in the midst of fear and declares her triumph and victory beforehand because she understands that God is with her.
One of my favorite verses would definitely be Psalms 46:5 (NIV). It states, “God is within her. She will not fall.” What makes a woman powerful is not her lack of fear, but her choice to choose courage in the midst of fear because she knows God is on her side. I don’t know about you, but I remember always waiting until I was a little older so that I would be braver to do something new. Whether it was sleeping alone in the dark or jumping off Waimea rock, I was always so hesitant to do what frightened me. But I realized courage doesn’t come with age because courage is a decision. Just like the great Winston S. Churchill said, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” Instead of reacting, I’ve learned that its better to respond… and in this situation, we must respond with courage. Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let the fear stop you. But that doesn’t always mean courage is a mighty roar. It can also be that little voice at the end of your day that says, “I will try again tomorrow.” Regardless, we find our strength and courage in Jesus. By remaining in Him, fear will have no hold over you. I promise! By declaring your victory before it happens, it’s almost like a fast-past to triumph because it will give you the courage and strength needed to endure your journey! Try it!
3. She is resilient.
This point kind of ties #1 and #2 together. But it more so eludes to the idea of inner strength. There is no woman more powerful than one that is determined to keep rising. A strong woman is measured by how many times she refused to allow hardships to dictate her and who she becomes. With the help of Jesus, getting back up again will be simple. Continue with your journey. The little bumps in the road are there to help elevate you. And it’s your choice to continue on and step forward with grit anchored in Grace. Your soul knows how to heal itself. But the challenge is silencing your thoughts and minimizing the negativity that runs through your mind. As someone who is a huge thinker, I struggle with this a lot. Shoutout to my over-thinkers! I know… the struggle is REAL. I learned that the way to navigate this is to adopt the mind of Christ. I am learning to train myself to see the good in everything; to see the beauty beyond the struggle. Positivity is a choice and when you choose it, you choose God. And He will get you through anything. He will provide the resilience needed to endure the journey. Its truly beautiful!
4. She is not completely overcome by her emotions.
In my house, there are 4 gentlemen (Dad, Mycah, Braiden and Emet) and 3 ladies (Mom, Giscelle, and myself) and the on-going joke is how emotional women are. Whenever I’m upset about something, I always here some boy say, “Oh she’s probably on her period. She’s fine.” If you know my family, I will give you one guess who says that the most… haha! Anyways, even though it irritates me IMMENSELY, it’s true. Women can be emotional. At least I can be! And that is totally and completely okay cause we were created to have emotions. We just need to understand how to control our emotions rather than letting our emotions control us. Women of strength do not take offense to little comments such as that, but rather allows for the love of her Father to overwhelm her in those times so that the only thing we exude is His love. It’s the same idea of responding, not reacting. We must respond in love.
5. She has a beautiful heart.
This one is simple. Nothing too crazy. Physical appearance can only take you so far. I like that famous quote that states, “No beauty shines brighter than that of a pure heart.” There are so many of us that struggle with confidence in the way we look. I know because I was someone like that! What’s beautiful is that that is my biggest testimony – how I went from insecure to invincible by focusing on inner beauty rather than getting caught up with what I saw in a mirror; The story of how Colossians 1:27 came to be my life verse. Stay tuned for that post!
There you have it, folks! That is what I believe being a woman of strength looks like. Of course there are SO MANY more attributes but these are 5 God highlighted to me. But HOLD UP. I wanted to just say this disclaimer really quick. These truths also apply to men as well. These can be what a “man of strength” looks like too. SO, if you’re a guy reading this, please find encouragement in this, too! I didn’t forget about y’alls! Lol!
Anyways, back to my girls! Let’s make it a goal this year to become women of strength. Let’s become women the world can’t comprehend! When women support each other and uplift each other, incredible things happen. And I believe that God wants to take us all to our next glory! I’m excited to journey alongside you!! Are you??
But what about you? Which one of these do you struggle with the most? Which do you feel you flourish in? In your opinion, what else describes a woman of strength? Let’s chat about it, love bug! I’d love to know your thoughts or your personal journey in becoming a strong woman (or man)! Feel free to message me directly or simply leave a comment. We can all dialogue together!
Thank you so much for reading!
Until next time!
way life is im afraid in commitment. I have say, even with all things that says in 31 its tough. but i dont mean to say there no hope in finding, I feel it has be partnership. meaning to help following every word. Saying to trust and keep each other accountable. this set of rules are set for you to look for not to condemn or to reject someone but to be open when approach. I must say not all man and women are born to be same they have there own purpose, its just what purpose you willing to be for who and why? Is it to love or is it just because? main thing is to encourage one other to go to God not to boast but to love each other. support each other.. but i must say yes we must follow the rules accordingly. but we must not damage are self trying but to be that person for anther..
in all i say good job in pointing it out there.. and good job.
SO well written my friend. You exude a true mentoring heart, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for your future and how many girls’ lives you are going to impact!
Author
Thanks friend!!!!!!!!! Your support means the world to me!!! Love you girl! <333
We only interacted a few short times, but from the moment I met you I felt very welcomed and could tell it’s because God’s grace & love just pours out of you in every word and action!
Thank you so much for writing this post, Misha! God must’ve known this was exactly what I needed during this challenging point of my life, where I’ve had to step out of my comfort zone and rely on Him to carry me and calm my anxiety in many situations. Thank you for reminding me that God will be my strength and source of courage, and that He will continue to be with me every step of the way.
Continue to let His light shine through you, beautiful Misha, you are such an encouragement to me! <3 Lil
Author
Wow!! This made my entire day! I’m sorry, what is your name? I can’t figure it out by your username. haha! But thank you so much for sharing this. The pleasure is all mine! Hearing testimonies such as yours and knowing that I helped someone gain more faith is enough gratitude!
I hear you about the comfort zone. Struggle is reaaall! haha Stepping out in faith isn’t always easy but I have found that growth only happens outside of your comfort zone because it forces you to not rely on your own strength but to rely on God. And I’m so glad to hear that thats what you’ve been doing in this difficult time of your life. That is amazing and people will be inspired by your testimony!! I may not know whats been going on in this season, but I do know that your life is going to be blessed by your choice to draw near to God in the midst of the chaos! Definitely keep going and keep relying on God and He will get you through it! Thats amazing!! You’re Amazing! Keep me updated with the blessings that are coming your way! I’d love to hear about it and praise God with you!!
Thanks again for reaching out! I saw you were not subscribed so please be sure to do that so we can stay connected and talk more Jesus things! If you go to my home page and either scroll to the bottom or look on the sidebar, you’ll see a place to leave your name and email address so that you can get notified on all my posts! Also, if you know of anyone else who needs to read this, feel free to share it with them! That would mean the world to me!
AHHH! Thanks again! This made my whole day! <333
God Bless!!
xoxo,
Misha
This was clearly well-thought out, and I enjoyed reading it. But as with any thought provoking piece, I have questions.
1. You emphasize that positivity is a choice and that God will give you strength, which makes sense from a neurotypical point of view. What would you tell the depressed or anxious, who cannot simply choose to be optimistic? People who are impaired from thinking themselves better are apt to feel that “God will give you strength” is an empty platitude.
2. I’d like to pick your brain on point 4 — I disagree completely with the idea that women are “emotional creatures.” This is a damaging stereotype that not only burdens women with the emotional labor of a relationship, but also prevents them from being taken seriously (especially when in positions of power). It also harms men by enforcing the idea that they are incapable of processing emotion. Humans are emotional creatures. It’s unfair to take emotions from half of humanity and force it on the other half. Doesn’t it frustrate you to be dismissed because you “just have your period”?
On that note, I do appreciate your shoutout to men at the end of your post, and I absolutely love how you uplift, encourage, and support women in this post. Thank you for your writings, and God bless!
Author
Hello! Thanks for stopping by and giving your opinions and asking your questions! I’d love to answer! Keep in mind these are just my opinions and whether you agree with them or not is entirely up to you! I don’t want to impose my beliefs on you, just wanted to share out my thoughts! 🙂
1) Where I choose to believe that you can be healed by renewing your mind, it has been scientifically proven that this is possible, I also acknowledge that there are cases in this world where people are clinically depressed or suffer with anxiety. Even those who have lost family members to horrible accidents. I have an aunty who suffers from clinical depression and an aunty who was killed in a car crash. There have been times where I was not able to choose joy or I was mad at God when my aunty passed so suddenly. But it’s in those moments, we need to praise God for those doctors who created the modern day medicine or for the life a family member was able to live! Doctors provide the opportunity for us to take medication for our symptoms. God bless them! Although it is unfortunate that there are people in this world that have to go through that and live through that, they ultimately have a choice to see positive and live a happy life and not let their circumstances dictate to them how they will live their life. And they just keep taking that modern day medicine until they have enough strength of their own to live without it. It takes a lot of faith but it’s possible. I believe it! It’s kinda like someone who has bad eye-sight and wears glasses. They can either choose to walk around not being able to see much or wear their glasses that is provided for them. But yeah, I want to recommend Dr. Caroline Leaf’s study of the renewing of your mind. It’s called, “Switch on Your Brain.” Truly amazing! Hopefully that helps!
2. I have learned that all humans have the capacity to be emotional. So I didn’t intend for this post to negate women or men. We are ALL emotional. We were created like that. It was not my intention to speparate men and women. NOT AT ALL. Please understand my heart. We are ALL created equal in the eyes of Christ. And I find that when your emotions go uncontrolled, for both men and women, that is what causes the stereotype you mentioned. I have let my emotions go crazy at times and I have to constantly choose to watch out for that and rather than allowing for that stereotype to be applied to me, I will let my emotions be a strength. I just wrote from a females perspective simply because I am a female and rather than following what the rest of the world does by speaking for the other gender, I didn’t want to do that in this case as well. I can’t speak for a man cause I’m not one. Hopefully that makes sense. There is a negative connotation to that statement and I apologize if a offended you. It was just my thoughts and something I have learned for myself about myself.
These are both topics that have been debated for a very long time and I’m only a 21 year old girl trying to fall deeper in love with God. So if you still don’t agree, I want to encourage you to do a self study for these topics and research what else has been said! If I wasn’t able to help today, hopefully you find what you’re looking for!! 🙂 Thanks again for reaching out. Hopefully that answers your questions! God bless!
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