The Importance of Womanhood

What woman understands the definition of courage?  Who has experienced real hardship?  When life is put to the test, when wealth is stripped away, and love seems forsaken, would we still rise to the height of our calling?

Womanhood is an essential important factor in life.  Although we are more frail and weak than men, the strength of our hearts can overcome even the greatest obstacle; then we are strong.

Such a caliber of womanhood is unheard of today.  In a society where women are men and men are women, we don't see motherly and wifely zeal.  Wives and mothers are no longer wives and mothers.  Instead, they are smokers, drunk drivers, and workmen all rolled into one.  They aren't submissive unto man, and especially not unto God.  Most women don't even know what femininity is.  Have godly feminine women ceased to exist?

To find such aforesaid women, we have to jump back into the 1700's.  Our country (then only 13 English colonies) was in the midst of a war with Great Britain.  The Continental Congress was desperately struggling for the right principles to lead a new nation.  55 men signed the Declaration of Independence.  But what was happening behind the scenes?  On the home front, how were the families of these men living?  Were they living in peace, or did they sacrifice much?

The women of yesterday were strong, brave, proud, and ultimately courageous in all that they did.  They too sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.  Many had to flee from house to house, always a step ahead of the British.  Many lost their homes, wealth, and livelihood.  Some even lost their lives.

Benjamin Rich, a signer of the Declaration, said this about America's women of that time:  "The women of America have at last become principals in the glorious American controversy.  Their opinions alone and their transcendent influence in society and families must lead us on to success and victory."   You see, the women didn't cower down in fear when they heard the tramp pf British feet or the thundering sound of cannons and musket fire.  They weren't "sissies."  Their lives and the lives of their families were at stake.  If the small 13 colonies had lost the War, the signers would have been hanged or beheaded.  As it was, during the War, their lives were forfeit.  What self-respecting women would wish such a cruel fate upon her husband?  That's why the women had to fight back.  They weren't wimpy crybabies.

Without firing musket, and without marching into battle, the women of colonial America did something even more valuable.  Their purpose was simple yet strong: to uphold the spirits of their men, support them in every action, take care of their families, love, honor, and obey till death did part them, and remain strong and passionate in the cause they were fighting for.  When they had to flee for refuge, when they kissed their husbands goodbye, not to see them for months upon months, when they prayed without ceasing...that took courage.  Yet one thing must remain clear: their courage came from Jesus Christ.

America would have lost the War if not for her faith and prayer.  God was with the little colonies, and eventually made them big and great states.  Everyone understood the power of prayer, which explains why George Washington would kneel down in the cold and snow of Valley Forge to cast his every care upon the Lord.

The women behind the Declaration of Independence are patriots not fully recognized by historians and people today.  If not for the women, the men would have fallen under the weight of all they had to bear.  However, the women readily shared the burden.  They weren't going to resign their posts, for they too longed for peace and freedom.  All they had to do was succeed.

David Barton said this:  "These women, although not pledging their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" in writing, nevertheless willingly sacrificed all for their country, their families, and their posterity.  We are that posterity, enjoying all the benefits of their sacrifices."

To recount the lives of each woman would be impossible. (For a summary, read Wives of the Signers, by Harry Clinton Green and Mary Wolcott Green.)  Each woman was important and took drastic steps toward freedom.  For example:

Mary Bartlett: forced to flee with her family from her burning home.

Elizabeth Adams: supported her family with needlework.

Elizabeth Lewis: imprisoned for months by the British, and suffered great hardships that eventually led her to her death.

Mary Morris: driven from her beautiful home.

Annis Stockton: homeless after the British burned her home.

Deborah Hart: driven from home, watched anxiously as her husband was hunted as a criminal, and finally died from exposure and anxiety.

There are countless others.  Take Abigail Adams for example, wife of John Adams, mother of John Quincy Adams, and the first lady of the White House.  She was constantly separated from her husband, yet she remained patriotic and cheerful.  She taught her young children at home, and wrote to her husband frequently.  She was strong in spirit and influential in life.

Every woman from that period deserves high praise for the sacrifices they made.  From their lives we see the pattern we are to follow.  Instead of following the world's model of "womanhood," we can learn better from the past.  Only, we have to realize one intrinsic detail.  It takes courage.

The Hidden Heroine of the Bible

Thursday, while during school, I was reading in the book of Esther.  I'm sure y'all remember that story from the Bible.  Esther was the one written about as "fair and beautiful", and was pampered for 12 months!  A whole year!  I'm sure many girls would love to have beauty treatments for a whole year.  You know how girls are.

However, today I am not wanting to talk about Esther, although she was an amazing woman used of God.  That is for another time and place.  Today, there is a hidden hero, or I should say, heroine, in the story of Esther: Queen Vashti.  Surprised?  Not many people know anything about her.  Honestly, I don't either.  That is why I want to want to try and uncover somethings that have came to my attention. (Oh, by the way, since this is Saturday, I also have a book review mixed in.  The book is Secret Keeper, written by Dannah Gresh.)

In the book Secret Keeper, Dannah Gresh also recognizes Queen Vashti as a hidden heroine of the Bible.  Listen to what she says:  "Queen Vashti, Esther's predecessor, is the Bible's hidden hero.  The king called her to flaunt herself.  He and his friends were drunk, and she knew it was inappropriate for a woman in her culture to flaunt her beauty in front of a man, let alone a room full of drunken men.  She lost her crown but not her honor.  She oozed with inner confidence!  Queen Vasthi understood that the power of her allure was protected not only by what she wore but also by where she went, when she went, and how she acted.  She held the power of inner modesty in the palm of her hand.  She wasn't about to forfeit that power...not even at the command of the king."  Pretty strong statements, what?  I believe we have found a hidden hero in the Bible - one we would have never though of.

Women do have a certain kind of power.  You may not think so?  Guys are visual. (Sound corny the way I put that?)  They go by what they see.  Why do you think magazines always have the picture of a woman on the cover (although indecent most of the time)?  It is because most people are attracted to the sight of a woman, particularly a beautiful one.  Especially guys.  Women do have power - but do we want to flaunt ourselves at every guy we see, or do we want to be modest, chaste, discreet, and wait for the one that will ultimately love us for who we are?  I'll take the latter.

That is why Queen Vashti should be a Biblical role model for us as Christian ladies.  She knew it was wrong and inappropriate for her to be on display in front of a room full of drunken men.  In the end, she behaved in the appropriate manner, although it cost her her position.

Esther1:10-11 say, "On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, (drunk, perhaps?) he commanded...the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty, for she was fair to look upon."

The king had been feasting and drinking; drinking quite a lot by the sound of it.  Then a bright idea popped into his head: why not bring forth Vashti, his beauteous queen, before the province so she might flaunt her beauty before his subjects?  So he commanded Vashti to come before him in the feasting room.  However, Vashti would not come.  She knew better than to appear before intoxicated men.  LORD only knows what might have happened!

Vashti knew the power that women possessed, and still possess today.  Unfortunately, many women today don't care - they only want the attention their beauty and bodies bring.  You can tell by the way a woman dresses if she wants to please God, or gain the attention of man.  Skintight jeans, low-cut shirts, miniskirts spaghetti straps, etc.  All those are made to be attention grabbers.  In this day in which we live in, it is very hard to find modest attire.  Very hard indeed.  But that doesn't mean we Christian girls give in to the pressure and start behaving as the girls of the world - NO! On the contrary, we should strive harder to be light in a darkened world, like Vashti was!  She is a very good example to follow.

Although the Bible doesn't say much about Vashti, I believe what is said is to serve a purpose.  In spite of what the king commanded, Vashti still held her ground by doing what was right.  A great lesson can and should be learned from her example.  "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29)   Even in face of loss, torment, persecution, and contrary to popular belief, we are to stand our ground and boldly proclaim we will uphold what it right!  Queen Vashti did just this.  She must have known consequences would follow, yet she still held her ground.  Praise God for such an encouraging story!  We should "do right until the stars fall." -Charles Spurgeon.

O God, give us more women today that will stand up like Vashti and do Your will and law!

The book I highly recommend today is Secret Keeper, written by Dannah Gresh.  A very good little book on modesty and how girls and women are to use their power.  I encourage every woman  and girl to read it.  Although the book is small, perhaps your eyes will be opened to some things.

To conclude, who would you rather be like?  Queen Vashti, who stood her ground to do right, even in the face of consequences, or one of the "fashionable models and actresses" that cover every magazine, those that are weak and have given up everything of themselves?  Do you want to be weak, or strong?