thoughts on womanhood
Jun. 26th, 2002 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chestnutcurlsEveryone needs to read Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. It has made me want to be a more Godly woman. Well, that's something I always want, but this really drove it home.
I think it's harder to be a Godly woman than it used to be. In many ways, our society encourages us to act like men. Humble service (namely to a husband and children) has now become something to avoid, a sign of weakness. I'm very glad that we live in a time where we have the option of a career, and independence, and equality. But we have overlooked the fact that men and women are equal, but different. It's great to work and to use the gifts that God gave you; the Proverbs 31 woman was a businesswoman and seamstress, and about a million other things. :) But this passage by Prentiss really struck me:
"The best convent for a woman is the seclusion of her own home. There she may find her vocation and fight her battles, and there she may learn the reality and earnestness of life."
I'm not saying that women who aren't married and/or are childless are less womanly than someone who does have these things. (I am one of those women now, and I may always be.) But I think God "built" us to want those things, because that is what He uses most to sanctify us.
I don't know what my point is. I've just been thinking about this a lot lately, and I wanted to share. Sorry if I didn't make any sense. :)
I think it's harder to be a Godly woman than it used to be. In many ways, our society encourages us to act like men. Humble service (namely to a husband and children) has now become something to avoid, a sign of weakness. I'm very glad that we live in a time where we have the option of a career, and independence, and equality. But we have overlooked the fact that men and women are equal, but different. It's great to work and to use the gifts that God gave you; the Proverbs 31 woman was a businesswoman and seamstress, and about a million other things. :) But this passage by Prentiss really struck me:
"The best convent for a woman is the seclusion of her own home. There she may find her vocation and fight her battles, and there she may learn the reality and earnestness of life."
I'm not saying that women who aren't married and/or are childless are less womanly than someone who does have these things. (I am one of those women now, and I may always be.) But I think God "built" us to want those things, because that is what He uses most to sanctify us.
I don't know what my point is. I've just been thinking about this a lot lately, and I wanted to share. Sorry if I didn't make any sense. :)
