Why not? Celebrating feminine strengths (1)

Hey, folks, it’s day 1 of ‘Accelerate’ next week (that’s a training day for women in the Jesus Fellowship) so maybe it’ time to indulge in a little celebration of femininity or shall I say ‘feminine strength.’

How shall I begin? Well, now, let’s see …we all know, women can be tough (I’ve had enough fierce female teachers in my lifetime to know that), decisive, commanding and share many traits in common with men which we generally consider as more masculine ones. But some human character traits are distinctively feminine.

 A while ago I went to see my friend, Angela, in hospital and I saw something very beautiful. She was suffering from liver cancer and a friend of hers, known to me a little, was sitting beside her bed filing her nails and rubbing a sweet smelling lotion onto her hands. She was comforting her in her dying hours - indeed, she died two days later. It touched something deep inside me and instinctively I thought, ‘how feminine! How beautiful! ‘I then thought of the woman in the gospels who broke the alabaster jar and poured its contents on Jesus’ feet, a deed indeed soaked with feminine strength …. devotion, gentleness, poured out love … indeed, outrageous love.

It seems to me that there are many things a woman can do and be that are distinctively feminine; they are beautiful and very strong; they are filled with feminine strength.

Now, let’s turn to the thesaurus … yes, looking up ‘strong’: among other things it gives the synonyms muscular, brawny, sturdy, rugged, strapping. Well, this is not primarily what I perceive ‘strength’ to be. Strength is foremost virtue, every virtue that comes from the heart of God Himself, whether it is tenderness, meekness or confident godly authority. Above all, it is outrageous love.

Yes, let’s look at God-filled femininity through fresh eyes and see it as something very powerful, something very beautiful; let’s recognise it and celebrate it and above all, explore and be and do it … allowing God to enlarge our heart in every way … so that, as well as sharing with the men some common traits, we are particularly filled with outrageous, feminine love…