I was perusing my latest copy of Above Rubies and was stopped in my tracks by an article entitled "Quintessentially Feminine". From the time I was a child, I have aspired toward femininity. I don't mean dress, necessarily, but rather the character of femininity. In my mind, the word "feminine" embodies all that is gentle, all that is nurturing, all that is wholesome. It seems to me that the world has high-jacked femininity and replaced it with "prissy" or "girly", neither of which suit me in the slightest. Prissy and girly seem to describe the outward appearance while feminine describes the inward character.
Gentleness is a character quality I long to cultivate. As so beautifully illustrated in 1 Peter, I would love to be a woman known for "the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight". Not only is a quiet and gentle spirit of great value to God, it is of great value to a husband. What husband would choose an abrasive, nagging wife over a wife whose lips "dripped with honey" (Song of Songs)? Shakespeare said, "Her voice was ever soft, gentle and low, an excellent thing in a woman". That is what I want to be - an excellent woman.
As I cultivate Quintessential Femininity, I will learn to speak encouragements to my husband and my children. I will learn to manage my home so that it is a restful place, a place of sweet fellowship and refuge. I will become a wife whose lips drip honey, both sweet and nourishing. I will learn to be quintessentially feminine.
Thank you for giving women something beautiful to aspire to. A beautiful contrast to the many de-feminized women we commonly see for role models; where men are their focus of ridicule and children are viewed as a setback.
ReplyDeleteYou encourage me to aim for something far better and never out of style. Strength, morality, and grace.
Trish
Amen. We need to figure out a way to encourage one another in this. There is so much support out there for the "entitlement generation" and other non traditional women roles that we need to somehow band together and support one another, just as Titus II states we should.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above and want to know WHERE to get a copy of the "Above Rubies". I have been looking for that newsletter/magazine and haven't been able to find it. Please email me and let me know where you get it. Thanks!
ReplyDeletekritterblogdesigns(at)gmail(dot)com
I would have loved to put a link on the blog for Above Rubies, however, every time I tried it hung my computer. Perhaps their server was not working correctly - it may be now. Their web address is http://www.aboverubies.org/
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend their magazine. It never fails to inspire me in my walk with God and my desire to be a godly wife and mother.
Enola
I "Above Rubies", I have been to a couple of Nancy's retreats. She is a beautiful picture of a quintessential feminine woman. She is beautiful in appearance, but more so in her spirit. She is definitely a quiet, meek woman. I strive to be a wife and mother who has a meek and quiet spirit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a hint of what is in the new "Above Rubies", my daughters always get to them before I do:)
A good book for young girls is "Beautiful Girlhood" by Mabel Hale.
ReplyDeleteThe lessons in it are timeless.