I love the part in the book where Stasi writes "History is still unfolding and your existence on this earth as a woman is proof that you have an irreplaceable role to play. You are a woman, are you not? An ezer kenegdo to your core. Your lingering disbelief (may it be fading away) that anything important hangs on your life is only evidence of the long assault on your heart by the one who knows who you could be and fears you.
There is much life saving that needs to be done yet, and someone needs to do it. Not in a pressure-filled, you'd better get to it kind of a way. Rather, an invitation. Your feminine heart is an invitation by your Creator. To what? To play an irreplaceable role in His Story. "
What destinies are hanging on to you saying yes? Remember the verse in the Bible that says God has made good works for you to walk in before you were even born? And in Acts chapter 17 it talks about how he put us in a specific time and place. Our lives are not random at all, what is God inviting you to?
The book talks about how Mary, mother of Jesus was invited to be the mother of Christ, and her saying yes, may it be as you have said, was the invitation God gave her to live and have an irreplaceable role in His Story.
What is God inviting you to....a relationship with him first and foremost. As we are increasingly healed and growing in Christ, God restores our desires to us. Some of us are being recovered and others are being discovered. Is God restoring any desires in you?
Now in our Bible study time with the women I must admit we were pretty lost about our desires. I think most of us have very little time to think much less dream. I would sure love some comments on this how we can change this.
The next part of the book was on what role women play in relationships. Women are the ones who keep relationships going and make them a priority. Stasi says in the book " You have an irreplaceable role in your relationships. No one can be to the people in your life who you can be to them. No one can offer what you can offer. There are many things God calls us to do, but loving well always comes first. And don't your relationships feel opposed? Of course, They must be fought for."
"The reason we fear to step out is because we know that it might not go well (is that an understatement?)
We have a history of wounds screaming at us to play it safe. We feel so deeply that if it doesn't go well, if we are not received well, their reaction becomes the verdict on our lives, on our very beings, on our hearts. We fear that our deepest doubts about ourselves as women will be confirmed."
We could all relate to that statement in red. This is the struggle the enemy comes against us in, can I be transparent with others? Can I be lovable just the way I am and have anything of value to give in a relationship? The answer is YES! We don't have to wait to offer our lives until we have our act together. If we did, would anyone ever feel like offering anything? God asks us to be vulnerable. He invites us to share and give in our weaknesses. He wants us to offer the beauty that he has given in our weakness even when we are keenly aware that it is not all that we wish it were. He wants us to trust him.
If we continue to hide, much will be lost. We cannot have intimacy with God or anyone else if we stay hidden and only offer who we think we ought to be or what we believe is wanted. What freedom we have found in our circle of women being able to share the deepest parts of ourselves, we have knit our hearts together. Yes, right here at COB and none of us will be the same again.
One by one we let our guard drop sharing sometimes shame that we had been carrying, painful struggles, doubts we had about ourselves. The love and tears for each other has been overwhelming and heartfelt. We are each others cheerleaders now and have taken great delight in every step forward and every prayer answered on each others behalf. This is how God meant for it to be. We get our strength and hope from seeing what God has done for each one us. The enemy wants us to hide, we can not receive support in prayers or feel the love of Jesus coming through our sisters on our behalf unless we will share our deepest parts.
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