Destined to be a Woman

There is wisdom in her eyes, tenderness in her smile, and sunshine in her morning curls. She is all of my motherhood dreams wrapped into one little girl.

She wakes with a jaunt nearly every day and beckons the world with a cry or a squeal. She demands the total attention of the house but in a most endearing manner. She can stomp a foot with a winning grin and almost always get her way. She is the most beautiful combination of strength, wildness, and gentleness that I have ever known. She is my little girl….one day, destined to be a woman.

To be a woman is to be a beauty rare and captivated only by the hearts and minds of those who slow enough to take notice. A woman is courage to hold a strong man’s hand, kindness to kiss a crying child’s knee, and humility to clean up messes after midnight. Being a woman is an honor I hold dear….and raising one is a privilege beyond words.

I want to teach my daughter, my sisters, my mother, my friends the treasures that I am discovering as the gift of womanhood is unfolding in my life.

I do not long to be like a man; I long to be what man cannot…a woman.

I long to speak quiet when the world is raging loud

And to be still when the hustle moves about.

I long to pick flowers in fields overgrown with forgetfulness

And wipe tears from faces that have made another mess.

I long to be a soft place where others find refuge

And a voice that brings a smile with a simple “I love you.”

I long to be the fullness of the woman God has made me to be

And the smile upon my Father’s face to one day plainly see.

If we desire equality more than individuality, we are only ever capable of becoming what someone else has already achieved.

Instead, we can strive to be fully complete as the unique mystery that God created in the depths of our mother’s womb. We can embrace the uniqueness of who we are destined to become without the grips of comparison taking hold. We can rise above, dance towards more, sit in simplicity, and kneel in humility. 

We can lend a hand and be a friend to every woman we meet because if our hands our busy clapping they cannot hold a tool by which to measure. 

As I see my daughter gallop in the grass and climb a ladder tall…

as I hear her voice mimic me and sing another song…

I never think to put her down, degrade, belittle, or judge.

So why would I then do these same things to a sister, a friend, or even to myself?

Dear friends, will we ever learn to approach the world with kindness and with open gentle hands? Will we choose to give grace to those around us, smile, and simply be a friend?  Will we slow enough to embrace the mystery of the woman we are destined to be?

After all, to be a woman is to be a beauty rare and captivated only by the hearts and minds of those who slow enough to care.

May we always be among those who are destined to become the women we were intended.

© Dani Hardy, September 13, 2019