Woman, Worthy of Honor

When I think of what it entails to be a woman, the words beauty, poise, compassion, nobility, love, tenderness, warmth, nourishment, discernment, wit and grit come to mind. Womanhood is fascinating! It is like a blending of different fruits that form a richly flavored cocktail. A woman can be gentle yet firm, furious yet composed, fragile yet strong. And no, I’m not talking about physical strength. The kind of strength I’m referring to is far more superior. It is a God-given strength that comes from deep within, a still but potent force that has continuously influenced, governed and shaped our world. It is a relentless strength that fights, protects, nurtures and endures.

The hand that rocks the cradle

A woman is a life-giver, the gate through which humanity enters the world. A woman is a nurturer; William Ross Wallace captured this perfectly: ‘the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.’ This means that whoever raises a child has the power to mold their character, thereby engendering the kind of society the next generation produces.

I am reminded of Dr. Ben Carson whose mother, Sonya, dropped out of school in the third grade. His family was poor and his single mother struggled to make ends meet. She went to local farmers and offered to pick vegetables in exchange for a portion of the yield which she canned as meals for her children. She cleaned and patched clothes obtained from Goodwill that Ben and his brother would wear. What fascinates me most about this story is the fact that she made them read two books weekly and hand in a written report despite the fact that she could barely read! She constantly reminded them that anything was possible. Her actions bore fruit three decades later when Dr. Carson revolutionized the medical world by performing the life-changing surgery separating conjoined twins Patrick and Benjamin Binder. You know who they say is behind every successful man? You guessed it!

Women are the wind beneath society’s wings. I liken them to our internal body structures such as the respiratory or digestive systems. Though we might not necessarily feel what happens inside us, we are aware of the grave repercussions we face when our internal networks fail. These systems never stop running. This is the immense kind of power women hold in our communities. The amount of influence they bear can either have wonderful or devastating effects on mankind.

Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden where it all began.

Adam, firstborn of the race

After five days of creating the universe, God sat down to create His most prized possession. I can imagine the excitement He felt on the morning of the sixth day. This was the final lap. Finally, He was going to make something that would reflect His very nature! I’m sure the angels were waiting with bated breath to see what God had up His sleeve. The past few days had been astonishingly spectacular, but now they had the privilege of witnessing God create something in His own image. After God fashioned man from the earth, He breathed life into his nostrils and voila! There he was! Adam! The firstborn of the human race. God looked at him and loved him. He made him overseer of everything that had been made and gave him the task of working and tilling the land. It was wonderful … but something was amiss. Adam indeed reflected God’s nature, but not all of it. He was physically strong and aggressive, he was vigilant and authoritative, but he lacked intuition, attention to detail, warmth and sensitivity. God had given Adam a huge assignment and God knew that he would need help fulfilling it.

Eve, culmination of the creation

So God put Adam to sleep and once again rolled up his sleeves to sculpt what I believe was the culmination of His creation; the climax of everything He had made, the crescendo or crown jewel of the universe. Her name was Eve. When Adam woke up from his slumber, he was stunned! He had never seen beauty like that before. Her long hair, her gorgeous face, her warm smile, her sweet voice, her soft touch and her exquisite frame was a sight to behold. The graceful manner with which she carried herself and the affectionate way with which she looked at him left him confounded. He found himself reciting a poem! He called her ‘bone of my bone ‘and ‘flesh of my flesh.’ Finally he had found his equal. He could now rest easy as a sense of completion overtook him. God’s plan for fellowship was now achieved. The triune God; that is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit had made man in His image; male and female He created them.