Captivating Sunshine

I have a Pollyanna outlook on life, I need to admit this right from the start of this post. The opinions I hold are those that are filtered through rose-colored glasses. I have always been this way, and am likely always to be this way. Some may call it naivete, and others with more malicious intentions would try to poison my thinking with their harshness of "reality." Which to me, is no more than hopelessness and despair.

I prefer rainbows and sunshine... fully aware that it takes a storm to appreciate both.

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There was a post/comment somewhere a long long time ago (sorry... I cannot remember where I read it, trust me, I've looked!) wherein a woman said (I know it was a woman, and that is why it struck me) that sometimes people have to be content with being ordinary. And that struck me. It struck me to the core of my being, but I wasn't sure why. It wasn't until I was having one of my "bad" days... the days where I looked and felt like a steamroller had flattened me... my spirits and my attitude, my love of the good and my ability to communicate that love were flat and meaningless. I looked at myself and the Deceiver whispered that I was just "ordinary" anyway... not worth the trouble of resurrecting. Why couldn't I just accept this and move on? Why bother? Who cares? I'm just a mom like everyone else, just making my way through life like everyone else... what made me think I was so special anyway?? ....

And I got mad. Righteously mad. Because I knew in an instant that this is exactly what we as moms, as women even, have been led to believe. We work behind the scenes, doing the little jobs, the smaller tasks, not even realizing how essential those tiny tasks are to those who surround us daily. Our attitude, our outlook on life, our self-awareness and our love of God are crucial to raising healthy, loving people. And if we were to accept the fact that we were "not worth" the fight for love and salvation, where would our families be?

Not only are we not called to be "ordinary"... we are, in fact, called to be extraordinary.

My friends are beautiful women. I mean that in every single sense of that term... spiritually, emotionally and physically. Surrounded by them this past Friday evening, I felt so fortunate to be able to sit and listen and laugh and ponder with them. It struck me that we all hold such different opinions about seemingly unimportant matters, but we hold them strongly, and with well thought out reasons. We are thinkers, we split hairs, and we joke and laugh along the way.

We are not ordinary women.

In fact, no woman is ordinary. And if you think that you are, consider for a moment what your world would be without you. How many lives would be shattered if you were not there? You are the sun of your own private universe. Even if you are single, in the working world... your family and co-workers would be at a loss if suddenly you were gone.

Especially if you have allowed your sunshine to penetrate the darkness that you encounter everyday.

And that is precisely what we women are called to do. In our own unique way, we are to shine forth and be a beacon... if for no one else but our family and friends. True, some are called to shine forth for a people or cause... but that in no way diminishes the lights of the rest of us. We light the way for so many in our own paths, small or big. It matters not. We must shine.

My heart aches for those women who have no life behind their eyes. For those who continuously compare themselves to others. Who think that their lights are not worth the trouble to shine forth.

Every woman's light is unique... and unquenchable. Our work is crucial. We must not let ourselves be beaten down anymore.