Monday, October 01, 2007
You are beautiful
Hello friends! Here I am posting yet again, and, once again, this post is mostly for my lady-readers. Gentlemen, of course you are encouraged to read this (and I would love feedback!) but I went to the most amazing women's retreat last weekend and I must share a little of what I learned.
Do you ever realize how cool it really is to be a girl? Really. I know I love it. Yes, it has its downsides (once a month, for example) and we are so complex even I can't figure me out, but our mystery adds to our beauty. You are beautiful; really and truly. How sad we forget that too often, and how doubly sad that we often forget to embrace what makes us beautiful.
Do you realize that Eve was the grand finale in God's creation? She was amazing, and specially created. Eve was made from the rib. Muslims believe that being made from the rib means that we are inherently bent, and we (women) will never be straight and true unless we are broken. God, however, does not see it that way. When He tells Adam he will make him a helper (Genesis 2:20-), He uses the word "ezer kenegdo." This is more than a servant or companion, but it means "helper beside him." The only other time the word is used is in reference to God and how he comes to help in times of desperate need (check out Psalm 33:20 :"...He is our hope and our shield (ezer kenegdo)) Think about the rib we came from: it surrounds the most vital organs and protects them. It is the healthiest bone in the body yet it is also the most fragile. It is not a bad thing to come from a rib. We are designed not only to give life, but also to protect and enhance it.
We also learn a lot about sin from Eve. They were only given one rule: don't eat the fruit of the tree. So why was Eve hanging around there? (on a side note: why does she not seem bothered by the fact that a snake talks to her!?) Sin waits for opportune moments to ensnare us; but we need to get close to it for it to have its effect.
Have you ever stopped to think about what was lost when Adam and Eve sinned? One thing we know for sure is that fellowship with God was broken, but it also looks like the perfect union between Adam and Eve was broken, too (because God was no longer an integral part of the mix?). God tells Eve she will now yearn for her husband, but he will be in authority over her. She never needed Adam like that before God couldn't fellowship with them. Think about it: (and I believe that this applies to both sexes) as much as we seek to be fulfilled in another person, we will never be filled because only God can satisfy us completely.
How special are we, really? Check out Psalm 18. If that does not sound like a fairy-tale love-story rescue, I don't know what does. "He rescued me because He delighted in me" (v. 19). Because Eve disobeyed, we now have separation from God and death, but we are special enough that Jesus came and rescued us--died in our place--so we could be made perfect once again. I feel beautiful knowing I was rescued like that. It is not always an issue of self-confidence; it is an issue of Christ-confidence. He believed in us and thinks us beautiful, and he proved it with his actions. Wow.
So remember ladies, you were fearfully and wonderfully made; a princess to be rescued. Hold your head high. You are beautiful.
Do you ever realize how cool it really is to be a girl? Really. I know I love it. Yes, it has its downsides (once a month, for example) and we are so complex even I can't figure me out, but our mystery adds to our beauty. You are beautiful; really and truly. How sad we forget that too often, and how doubly sad that we often forget to embrace what makes us beautiful.
Do you realize that Eve was the grand finale in God's creation? She was amazing, and specially created. Eve was made from the rib. Muslims believe that being made from the rib means that we are inherently bent, and we (women) will never be straight and true unless we are broken. God, however, does not see it that way. When He tells Adam he will make him a helper (Genesis 2:20-), He uses the word "ezer kenegdo." This is more than a servant or companion, but it means "helper beside him." The only other time the word is used is in reference to God and how he comes to help in times of desperate need (check out Psalm 33:20 :"...He is our hope and our shield (ezer kenegdo)) Think about the rib we came from: it surrounds the most vital organs and protects them. It is the healthiest bone in the body yet it is also the most fragile. It is not a bad thing to come from a rib. We are designed not only to give life, but also to protect and enhance it.
We also learn a lot about sin from Eve. They were only given one rule: don't eat the fruit of the tree. So why was Eve hanging around there? (on a side note: why does she not seem bothered by the fact that a snake talks to her!?) Sin waits for opportune moments to ensnare us; but we need to get close to it for it to have its effect.
Have you ever stopped to think about what was lost when Adam and Eve sinned? One thing we know for sure is that fellowship with God was broken, but it also looks like the perfect union between Adam and Eve was broken, too (because God was no longer an integral part of the mix?). God tells Eve she will now yearn for her husband, but he will be in authority over her. She never needed Adam like that before God couldn't fellowship with them. Think about it: (and I believe that this applies to both sexes) as much as we seek to be fulfilled in another person, we will never be filled because only God can satisfy us completely.
How special are we, really? Check out Psalm 18. If that does not sound like a fairy-tale love-story rescue, I don't know what does. "He rescued me because He delighted in me" (v. 19). Because Eve disobeyed, we now have separation from God and death, but we are special enough that Jesus came and rescued us--died in our place--so we could be made perfect once again. I feel beautiful knowing I was rescued like that. It is not always an issue of self-confidence; it is an issue of Christ-confidence. He believed in us and thinks us beautiful, and he proved it with his actions. Wow.
So remember ladies, you were fearfully and wonderfully made; a princess to be rescued. Hold your head high. You are beautiful.
# posted by Carla May @ 8:11 PM 
