Women of Judgement

A few days ago, for what seems like the thousandth time, someone commented about the amount of children I have (it's only three, which by my friends standards is actually not that many). I get one of three questions/comments: 1) Oh you have a handful, bless your heart (in southern terms that is not really a compliment)...2) Are you going to have anymore? (my answer: no, but not by choice, my uterus gave up on me!) 3) You look too young to have kids (yes I am technically a little young, but when and who decided the right age to have kids)...

I only bring this up, because my heart hurts for the women of our day. We never encourage or lift up or build the woman around us. We only criticize and second guess them and chastise them for not doing things in order, or on time, or for procreating "too much". We criticize each other for working, for homeschooling, for staying home, for needing a break, for not taking a break, for our weight, for not going to school, for being selfish and finishing school, for being too perfect and cooking all the time, or never cooking at all, for getting married young and or for getting married too late or not getting married at all. We get criticized for having children or not having them. We blame the media and the current state of technology and communication for all of this, but those are just excuses:

TRUTH:  All of these criticisms come from other women directed towards women. We do it without thinking and without regard for what others are facing. We are the ones that emphasize weight and body image, marriage, childbearing, education, etc. If you do it in an encouraging way, it's okay, but lets face it, most of the time we are throwing out judgement.

BUT what if we made a promise to only say encouraging things to other women. To make sure they know that someone is there and with them and that they are not alone. That the decisions they are making for their families and themselves are not bad simply because we would not make the same decision. If someone is making a detrimental decision there are ways to talk to them without making them feel like a failure. Could you imagine if every women heard they were beautiful and that their lives had value regardless of their circumstances, decisions, past, their size every day, how something so simple would transform our world. Little girls would grow up encouraged and feeling of value.

If we raise women of virtue and help to encourage the women around us, this is what the bible says of women of virtue:

For her worth is far above rubies -Proverbs 31:10

If the girls and women around us become women who know who they are and women who are encouraged and lifted up and built up by Christ and by the women around them, then our world becomes full of strong, graceful women whom nurture and love and give to those around them. Our communities, schools, families, marriages, churches become dramatically different!