buzzbrews

Afterthoughts of a late night conversation at a diner called Buzzbrews.

I sat with two guys at a booth. One adjacent to me, the other across the table. We talked about so many things; homosexuality, life, sex, living, relationships, church and other things. I've been more burdened lately by The Fall than I usually am. Not to say that I don't realize it in daily life, but lately it's just been more fierce. More hurtful to me. I've been more mournful of it's affects on life. I've longed for Heaven far more ardently than usual. This one part of the conversation brought me to consider my life as a woman. I am a woman. There are things that come with being a woman. There are things that are so trying: like the fact that I cannot walk alone down a street late at night for fear of being attacked. I wish that I could. There are so many nights when I would like to just leave my home and explore, with nothing but my thoughts and tennis shoes for comfort. But this isn't really the point I'm trying to make.

When I think of the fact that I am a woman, I know that I am this very important part of God's creation. He has bestowed upon me gifts just as a female. Women have an incredible amount of power when it comes to men. We have the ability to manipulate and control men simply because we are women, by our words and touch and body language. A passage that I have found to be telling of this power is Matthew 14:1-11. I'm not sure about the exegesis of the passage exactly. Herod has imprisoned John the Baptist because of his criticism of Herodias (his brother Phillip's wife). He was afraid to kill John because of the reaction of the people. Herodias was manipulative and planned for her daughter to dance for Herod on his birthday. Herodias told her that if she is given anything to ask for John the Baptist's head. He was so taken by the daughter that he promised the girl anything she wanted, which was John the Baptist's head on a platter. He carelessly promised anything to her. She could have taken everything from him.

This is one of those passages that humbles me. That makes me remember the power that God has given to us. But that it should be used in such a way to build up the body of believers, specifically men. I want to be a better encourager of my brothers in Christ. I want to incite my brothers to be men. We are in such need of men to lead and guide our churches, but it takes woman to build them up in Godly ways; praising, inspiring and challenging them. It's not a lesser role. It's one of my responsibilities as a woman.