Thursday, August 7, 2008

Mothers and Daughters...

Thanks to one of the bloggers I enjoy (http://femina.reformedblogs.com/), I thought I'd post this little word she wrote on Mothers and Daughters... (seemed fitting for this season of my life)
"In all things related to our lives and duties, we are either building up or tearing down. None of us builds perfectly, even on our good days, but we want to be making visible progress, not always cleaning up after our mistakes. So I’m going to start posting a few suggestions on how mothers can build up their daughters. Today, part one.
Our daughters want to know who they are and what they are supposed to be doing as women, even when they are little. God has obviously designed us with a purpose, and He has kindly laid that out for us in His Word. And His Word reinforces what is built into our feminine natures by design. He created us. It makes sense that when we live in harmony with Him, we find joy and peace in who we are in Christ. We don’t have to flounder around guessing.
But the “worldly wise” refuse to acknowledge that our Creator, the One who made heaven and earth, knows what He is doing in creating us. They feel called upon to correct Him and to rectify His “errors” in creation. Plenty of voices compete for the microphone, insistent that we line up and follow them, living our lives their way. It’s truly comical to see bossy feminist women (for one example) shouting at Christian women, telling us what to do. “Don’t obey your husband, you idiot! Obey me!” Some throw complete tantrums over this, just like the two-year old in the candy aisle of the grocery store. Don’t they see how foolish they appear to the watching public? And they wonder why we don’t want to be like them?
So my point here is that mothers need to raise their daughters to unashamedly know who they are. This gives them a tremendous sense of security. What a blessing and a relief it is to know everything is not up for grabs. When my youngest was a little squirt, we had gone to the doctor for an ear infection or something. We saw one of the physicians we didn’t normally see, and we commented about some of the little drawings that were hanging in the room. The girl drawings were of little houses with smoke coming out the chimneys and flowers in the front yard; the boy drawings were of ships and airplanes, mostly with things shooting out from them. We had laughed at how easy it was to tell the difference. But the physician bristled a little and said something about how the poor kids had been “programmed” to do what was expected of them. How funny! Of course they had been programmed. By a wise and good God! After we got in the car, my daughter said, “She needs to have some kids.” This was not only funny, but very insightful!
Psalm 144:12 has a lovely metaphor for this: “…that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” A cornerstone is, among other things, a significant part of the structure. It bears much weight and has stature and standing. It is foundational. And this cornerstone is in a palace; it is fine polished marble. Women have much significance in the family, in the church, and in the culture. They have a profound role to play. So mothers, give your daughters a good job description. God certainly has."

2 comments:

Mama Amy said...

i love reading your blog! i can't wait till there are pics of Anna's little face on here. keep updating. love ya

Serenity said...

hey you. I'm almost in tears cuz I'm missing all of this with you. You've been on my heart and in my prayers. love you