CELEBRATING WOMANHOOD

Happy International Women’s Day!!

8th March is the day that women are internationally celebrated, the whole month of March is dedicated to celebrating women, although if we are being honest we should do this every day!

In the Spirit of celebrating womanhood, the posts from this month will be dedicated to that cause and highlight all the unique ways in which the beauty of womanhood is manifested. I will have 3 different people writing from 3 different perspectives over the next few weeks, I am so excited and honoured that they accepted to share the unique perspective they bring to the table.

In this short introductory post, I just want to share a few reasons why we should celebrate womanhood in particular, in case you need a reason to celebrate the women in your life (Which I am hoping you don’t lol). Here are my 3 reasons for celebrating womanhood;

1. Women are made in the Image of God.

Genesis 1: 27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them.” Our value as human beings is found in the fact that God made us in His own image, we are divine image bearers and by virtue of that worth celebrating. God made women as divine image bearers in a way that is different to a man, there is a uniqueness in some of the attributes we reflect more as women that are meant to point us to who God is. Often times when we celebrate women, we attach value according to what they have done particularly towards us, that is why we often find it easy to appreciate our mothers, sisters and friends because we have personally benefited from them tangibly. I am fully persuaded however than the most important thing we can celebrate a woman for is that she is made in the image of God. She is a divine image bearer, her worth and dignity are rooted in this.

2. Celebrating Womanhood should lead us to celebrate God.

Since women are image bears, made in God and ultimately whatever beauty that we possess is meant to point back to the owner of it all. It is so easy to get lost is celebrating ourselves and “get lost in the sauce” as the kids these days would put it. It is so easy to make it all about us and our magic, it is so easy to celebrate womanhood in a way that actually turns feminity into idolatry. A true celebration of womanhood should lead us back to God, a true understanding of the magnificence and beauty of womanhood is meant to point us back to an all-wise creator who makes everything beautiful for his own purposes. Just as the pottery reflects the on the skill of the potter, so are we to reflect our maker in our womanhood. As we celebrate the beauty of being a woman and all the different dynamics and intricacies of womanhood, I hope it leaves us with a sense of awe and wonders for what a God we have. The end goal of all creation is to reflect the glory of God has the creator and our womanhood is not an exception.

3. Celebrating womanhood because the bible celebrates women.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Christianity (and the bible) is that it is oppressive to women, this is a topic I hope to dive into another day, but for today we are celebrating womanhood because we see women celebrated in the bible. Stories in the Bible range from different time, locations and cultures but one common theme that we see that sadly still hasn’t changed much due to the fall and sin entering the world is that the world hasn’t been the kindest place for women. But as I also read all these stories of women who have been oppressed, abused and mistreated in the Bible, I see God’s justice come through for them and fight for them. I think of Hagar in Genesis 16 & 21, as well as Jesus and the woman caught in adultery in John 8, and the hope of God’s accomplished justice through Jesus Christ.

One thing is clear throughout the bible God is a God of the marginalized and oppressed, we see him fight for women who have been oppressed and bring justice for them. I believe one of the ways in which the bible celebrates womanhood is through highlighting these stories, they are mainly there for the display of God’s grand redemptive plan, but we can also learn other lessons, principles and God’s heart through the minor details of the bigger story. I believe one of the several God chose to put them to highlight the fact that God sets an entirely different pattern on how to treat women than the world does.

Celebrating women for their goodness, beauty and excellent work is another pattern we see in the Bible, the most common one being Proverbs 31, we see that an excellent woman is celebrated by her husband and children, “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”. This verse here says it all “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” A Godly woman is worth celebrating, we see Jesus celebrate women in how he honoured and included women in his ministry, he valued their service and relationship with him. We see the bible celebrate women through Paul’s letters, as he often mentioned the sisters who he served along side with. We see the bible honour and celebrate women of faith (Sarah and Rahab) in Hebrews 11, in this list included an unlikely woman Rahab whose entire identity in the bible is “the prostitute”. The Bible sets an amazing pattern for us on how to value, treat and celebrate women, especially in a world that will probably always be harder on us. If you need another reason to celebrate women; because its something we see in the scriptures.

My 3 simple reasons for celebrating women this month, and honestly every month, I don’t think as believers we are obligated to celebrate “women’s month”the same way we aren’t obligated to celebrate any other holiday that the bible doesn’t talk about. But I think actually have every motivation to make a habit of celebrating womanhood because ultimately it is us acknowledging an all-wise God who made man and woman equal, but very different and distinct to reflect him in some ways unique to each sex and ultimately to bring him glory!

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating international women’s day and that you will join me on this journey of celebrating womanhood. Next week will feature a Guest post from my dear friends and blogger solelyforhisglory.wordpress.com!

Let me know in the comments below or on facebook, Instagram and Twitter @iamnotagoddess on your reasons why you celebrate womanhood, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Until then,

Grace and Peace!

Dee.