Wednesday, January 16, 2013

"That Will Make A Woman Out Of You"

My grandmother was a 6'2" no nonsense woman from Appalachia.  She had three children by the time she was 16 and went on to have seven.
Her life's perspective was a product of hard times and deep faith.
My mother tells of a time when after she had suffered a loss, she went to her mother in law, my grandmother, and asked how could she bear it?
In a tender  --  not condescending tone my grandmother told her; "That will make a woman out of you."
Mother found comfort in that.  She felt a camaraderie with all women from Eve to Mary up to herself who have endured and pondered life's hardships under the protection of a loving and grace filled God.
There is a verse in Proverbs 31 that describes one byproduct of living by God's grace in this often random and sometimes cruel world .  The Living Bible states it this way:
"She laughs at the days to come."
I have come to see that sometimes the most radical and freeing thing to do in the face of fear and disappointment is to mark your territory with laughter.
My mother at a girlfriend party.

1 comment:

  1. How the Lord calls His children to come together!! I knew there was a reason to come here today! This is the first time i have logged into my blogger page in 6.5 months and look who is here! Just an hour ago! I can still hear the echo of your Godly laughter in the halls! YourMother and Grandmother sound like wonderful women. And I couldn't agree more about the laughter. There were several unsaved people at my mom's memorial service in December, and I think they were in awe at how much joy and laughter there was going on. My mom would have loved it, because she is surely filled with joy and laughter now with Him.

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