She-Power

A little over a week ago, my mother, sisters, and I participated in a women's fitness celebration in Boise Idaho. It boasts itself as the largest women's 5k run/walk in the nation. And yep there were a lot of women there, tens of thousands. It was a ton of fun and inspiring. My older sister made a comment that really has stuck with me about how powerful women really are, and if they only knew that, how much of a change we could make. Well, I second that notion and would like to discuss a few things.

First off sisterhood. Do we really have any idea how magnificent a calling it is to be a sister. Years ago I heard a story about sisters that really touched me and I think it goes to the heart of what sisterhood is really all about. In Oct. 1995 twin girls Kyrie and Brielle Jackson were born 12 weeks prematurely. Both required significant medical care. However, Kyrie was the healthier of the 2 and responded well to treatment. Her sister Brielle was smaller and had some heart and lung problems. Her condition began to deteriorate, as her heart rate soared and she began gasping for breath. The nurse working with the family tried several things to bring Brielle's breathing and heart under control, but nothing seemed to be working. She decided to try an unusual technique. She actually placed Kyrie in the incubator with her sister. The picture shows what happened.



Kyrie put her arm around her sister. Brielle began to calm and eventually her heart and breathing rates normalized. Both girls thrived.

This is the great key of the power of sisters. We have one another. We are a veritable army. The best use of those arms is around each other in support and caring, united in the causes we know to be correct.

Now, about those mothers. I'm not one, (though I'd like to be someday, first I have to be a wife so if there are any handsome 30 something upstanding single guys out there, my number is 555-)but I know a lot moms. Is there a more powerful force out there for good than mothers? Well, besides God. . .? Here's the thing, mothers are powerful! I refer back to a recent previous post on power. You may recall (and if you don't go back and check it out, there was a great He-Man video) that one of the subjects I talked about was sacrifice. Mothers sacrifice from the get go (I'm talking puberty on up, sorry to any squeamish fellows :)They carry their child with them for 9 months straight, and that is just the beginning. A mother's role is sacred, sacrificing and powerful beyond belief. It's no wonder that the adversary (you remember him right, the loser jerk dweeb) is working overtime to try to convince mother's that they are weak and insignificant. The guy lies, and this is one of his biggest. Mother's because you sacrifice so much you hold within a power to influence for good.

Remember some important points. It is absolutely essential that you are imperfect. That's because your children will be imperfect and they have to know that they are still a good person and can overcome. Please don't beat yourself up for not being perfect. You are the example your kids need. Trust that truth. Remember that especially in the first years of life your children are learning tons and tons of things. The thing they learn the most about is relationship. As you spend time with them, holding them, laughing with them, crying with them, dancing with them, whatever, they will learn that they are good enough, smart enough and loveable enough for you, and that will be key to building their self-esteem. Moms are a force to be reckoned with. You are the builders. The foundation of society is the family. Moms hold the whole structure up. Don’t let anyone ever lead you to believe that you are anything less than central to our society and our nation’s success.

If you see things going wrong, take a stand, say it out loud. I guarantee you are not the only one. More and more moms these days are finding their voice and finding others who feel the same. You are in the trenches of the fight for good. Take courage God is always with the mothers who seek His help. Trust Him, and believe Him when He tells you how amazing you are.

I need to make sure I mention some people in particular. I have been blessed to have friends who are like family, and family who I consider friends. First off I'm grateful for the friends I have in my life. I have marvelous examples of strong and faithful women as friends, and I have learned much, thank-you. I am one of the truly blessed people when it comes to my family; the siblings have all married incredibly well. To my sisters in law, I consider you sisters in fact. You 3 are miracle workers. I regard my brothers highly, but you miraculously made them even better men than they already were. Thanks for being who you are. To my dear sisters. How could I ever truly begin to say what I feel for you? The love of my sisters has quite literally been a life saver. We laugh we cry, we put our arms around each other. From the deepest part of my heart, thank-you. And of course to my own mother. Talk about sacrifice. You have put up with me for one thing. You have held me from infant on up, comforting me in need, giving me light in my darkest moments, and giving me gifts of joy. Words fail. Thank-you.

So, dear women out there, stand up. Let the power loose. Throw open those arms. There is so much good in the world, and your role is key, and don’t you forget it. God bless.