The Women of Gainey 2 West

I sat on the couch at the end of the hallway and watched as girl after girl, woman after woman, walked down the hallway. I was struck as I noticed how beautiful each and every one of them was. I can’t put my finger on what it was that made all of them so beautiful, because it was a conglomeration of things.  It wasn’t the fact that they fit our mass media’s description of “beauty” – for they all came from a wide range of height, weight, stature, hair color, eye color, and the like. As I sat there and thought about it some more, I realized part of what made each and every one of these very different women so distinctly beautiful. They fit themselves so well. They are a work of art, and each of them carries themselves as such. They each bear the creativity of their Creator and what’s more: they are real. Maybelline, plastic surgeons, fitness trainers, and media can push images of what “beauty” is, but there is one thing they can’t compete with or re-create – a real woman. A real woman knows that she is the living breathing advertisement of the talent and ingenuity of our God and there is something breathtaking about that.

For all the women who have been convinced by our culture that they don’t measure up to society’s standards of appearance and physical expectations, remember: you are fearfully and wonderfully made. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.

Psalm 139:14: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." 

Living

I recently heard the quote:

“To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live.” – Victor Hugo.

I thought to myself, “Well, this is cool. Can you imagine going through life without actually living? Without doing anything with your life? That would stink.”

When I think about death these days, the first thing that comes to mind is Mom. So, naturally my thoughts went to, “I’m so glad my mom was one of those people who really lived.”

I didn’t stop to think about this until today: “What does it mean to truly live?”

Usually, I’m that person that likes to “cut to the chase.” I tell people all the time, “Don’t think about it too hard,” but right now, I’m really thinking about how we as people differentiate between “living” and simply “existing.”

I remember when I was younger, Mom and Dad used to have all of us kids sit around the dinner table and like good homeschooling parents they would have us learn Westminster Catechisms. The first one we learned got stuck in my head particularly badly and literally whenever I think about the purpose of life, to my great annoyance it pops in to my head. It’s kind of like thinking about the alphabet and trying not to think about that song that you learned to sing at age five; it’s impossible. The catechism goes like this:

“What is the chief end of man?”

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

Man’s purpose is to glorify God. This is living: to exist to be the hands and feet of God, and to say, “Here I am Lord! Send me!”

My mom wasn’t anything special by the world’s standards. She wasn’t rich, famous, or powerful. Yet she gave of herself for the glory of God. She gave her time, money, ambitions, and sometimes even her health and sanity for the betterment of others. Laying aside her own concerns, she took on the burdens of others and encouraged everyone around her. By having a perpetually selfless attitude, this is how she glorified God. This is how she lived.

Psalm 115:1: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!”