A Way to Build Up a Woman

My friends and family heard me call it a mid-life crisis.  I described it as being a tangled thread with no notion of how to tend the knot.  I wrote a morose song about it that no one needs to hear. 

It was a summer of juxtaposition for me.  I had two wonderful vacations in the most rugged of God's landscapes...to a remote island on a glorious lake in Canada, and to the open-air cathedral of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. 

So much rock and water and beauty this summer.  God was near in my encounters with nature. 

He sent me symbols of reassurance:  a dragonfly molting to its final, winged phase of life...an ancient symbol of maturity and depth of character; and a geode...nothing outwardly beautiful, but a treasure of gleaming surprises within. 

I had clarity on my vacations, but each time I returned home, I felt that familiar knot of discontent and ambivalence.  I read books about others feeling similar angst. Guess what...they were 40-something. 

Do you know what was more meaningful than dragonflies and geodes and a sweet, patient husband?  This (abridged) email: 

Late one night last week, thoughts were coming to me about ideas I should send to you in an email...

Here's my prayer for you from Isaiah 41:9-10,

"'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Praying for you,
Gwen

I wrote the scripture on a notecard, and each time I read it, I feel God speaking into my internal snarl.  You see, a consequence of this struggle is that I've barely cracked open my Bible this summer.  I was even in a Bible study in June and managed to avoid reading the Word.  There is a wall built up, so I have been looking for human wisdom in biographies and novels.  They are thought-provoking, but ultimately lacking.

God managed to circumvent my belligerent attitude by quickening the spirit of a faithful woman, who obeyed the prompting to relay His message.  The wall is crumbling, because I know He is strengthening me and helping me, and calling me back.  He's told me so.

Let's take the time to do this for each other.  It's how we build each other up and break down strongholds.  Be God's voice into a woman's life.