"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.