Welcome to Womanhood
I was blessed at a ‘Blessing Day’ yesterday.
“What,” I hear you ask, “is a Blessing Day?”
Well, we have friends with four children. When each of those children are around 13 -14 years of age, the parents set aside a day in which they welcome their child into adulthood. It is a significant day in the life of each child. Though the parents are still there to guide their children into full maturity, the young adult must now take on responsibilities and make commitments that, if upheld, will greatly, and positively, impact them and their future families for the rest of their lives.
Yesterday, we took part in a wonderful two hour ceremony that was designed to bless and affirm their youngest child, a daughter named Shalom, and welcome her into Womanhood.
We sang together, and various friends and family members contributed poems, songs, affirmations and exhortations, all of which Shalom happily received.
Of particular note was an exhortation by a long-time friend of mine named Maria. It was a wonderful exhortation to young Shalom to embrace Womanhood as God designed it and to not be lured by worldly model of womanhood that we are confronted with on a daily basis.
Maria’s exhortation was so good, that I went to her after the ceremony and asked if I could put it into my blog site. Even as I was talking to her, other people came and asked for a copy of her talk, confirming to me the value of this exhortation.
So here, thanks to Maria, is her ‘Blessing Day’ exhortation to Shalom. Read, enjoy, and take heed.
Maria’s Exhortation
“Blessed is Shalom who makes the Lord her trust, And does not respect the proud nor such as turn aside to lies.” Psalm 40:4
This verse could equally be translated:
“How happy is Shalom who makes the Lord her security, her confidence, her assurance. And does not respect the proud nor such as turn aside to idols.”
Shalom, today as you are welcomed into womanhood, know that as a daughter of the King, you are a woman with a high calling. A calling to holiness, a calling to Godliness, and a calling to purity.
Know that you are most blessed to possess such a calling. It is a privilege and an honour. Prize that calling Shalom and enjoy it. Excel in it, and in the strength and security of the Lord.
God’s word says that you will be happy Shalom when you do not turn to the lies of the world. This is so because the world, and those who are proud in it, demean your God given womanhood.
We live in a world where we are bombarded with false images of womanhood and beauty. They are everywhere on billboards, at bus stops, at shopping centres, in our homes, on our TV screens, computer screens, sometimes even in our churches.
According to one survey, the average woman can view up to 2000 images of distorted womanhood a week. I don’t think Shalom that you see that many because your parents are wise enough, and love you enough to restrict your time in front of a screen. But even so, you live in this world, this culture, and you will feel a tremendous pressure to conform to and worship our culture’s gods of physical beauty and sensuality.
In order to withstand this pressure in these difficult days, I believe Shalom that the Lord is wanting you to continually make Him your security and your confidence.
Never have we had a culture that is so visual. Man in his pride and sin is using technological advancements to propagate a false image of women that is bringing misery to many people. It is an image of beauty that has become so distorted and so unrealistic that even models can’t attain to it any more. After all their pain and effort to get ‘the look’, their photos are frequently digitally manipulated so they can look even more stunning and eye popping.
With this constant bombardment of images, it is not surprising then that studies show that the majority of women young and even a large number of older women, are unhappy with their appearance. It’s not surprising that the majority of women believe the LIE that if you are physically beautiful (eg. tall and thin) you have greater value as a person.
The majority of women today equate beauty with success and happiness. A Global survey done in 2004 on Women, Beauty and Well Being concluded that “women now judge beauty as important and even crucial as they navigate today’s world.” This study concluded that “the false definition of beauty, powerfully communicated through the mass media, is the ideal that many women measure themselves against and aspire to attain.
However, because this ideal is extremely difficult to achieve, women find it difficult to think of themselves as beautiful. This can contribute to unhappiness, low self esteem and low self worth, especially among those women (often younger) who are likely to take their cues from popular culture.
This problem is becoming global. It is not just confined to Western culture. Within three years of television arriving in Fiji, the incidence of bulimia in teenage girls rose dramatically as they tried to match the American actresses on the TV shows they were watching.
WHAT A BONDAGE! BUT PRAISE GOD, HIS TRUTH SETS US FREE.
The truth is Shalom, that you and every women on this planet is fearfully and wonderfully made. “But indeed O Man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to Him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” Rom 9:20
The truth is that you are the work of God’s hand. You are made in His image.
The truth is that, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain (it has no real value, worth or importance) but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised.
The truth is that you are a person of great worth, not because of what you look like and not because of what you can do (your talents or achievements). God loves you unconditionally. You are worth so much that God sent His Son Whom He loved so much, to die for you.
I find it interesting that the Bible says of Jesus when He came to earth in bodily form that He “had no beauty, that we should desire Him”. He was an ordinary looking man, yet we, His followers know that “He is beautiful beyond description.”
Man in his pride with his carnal nature, looks at the outward, but God looks at the heart.
There is a beauty that is valuable and precious to God. It is a beauty that every woman can develop and grow in - it’s the inner beauty of the heart, the kind that comes from the inside and is often reflected on the outside - with a smile, a kind look, with a face that radiates peace, contentment and joy.
This is the beauty that the apostle Peter spoke about when he said, “Your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is the greatest value in God’s sight.”
Shalom, I encourage you to develop this beauty as you go forth into womanhood. It comes from spending time with Jesus. From meditating on His Word. From allowing Him to renew your mind and transform your heart.
Be thankful that you have known God from a young age. I wish I had, as it may have spared me years of fear, worry, anxiety, grief and anger. These emotions forge unattractive lines on one’s face and soul. If you want a beautiful face, Proverbs 15:13 says you need to have a contented heart.
I am thankful that God is a God of new beginnings. His mercies are new every morning. He restores our soul. He gives us beauty for ashes. His beauty is the only beauty we can take into eternity.
Shalom, as you enter into womanhood, model yourself around Jesus, and you will reflect His image and His radiant beauty to this needy world more and more.
Go forth into womanhood with joy. “Happy is Shalom whose God is the Lord, who makes God her trust.”