Be Fierce With Your Superpowers

This past Friday we celebrated International Women’s Day, and if you didn’t know March is Women’s History Month in the United States declared by Congress in 1987. I’m not going to get all feminist on you, but I do want to remind you that we are freaking amazing human beings. God was doing some amazing work when he created the woman. He was intentional when He created us. He knew that we were needed on this earth for man to be a helper. He designed us with strength and courage and a will that in my opinion, no man can ever have. We push babies out of us for goodness sake! A 5-8 pound baby comes out of something that is 10 centimeters in diameter! What the heck was He thinking when He designed that? We work, we build businesses, we study, we have a special trade or a skill, we manage people, we are personal assistants, we are coaches, health advisors, caretakers, project managers, contractors, financial advisors, advocates, teachers, and the list goes on. The sacrifices we make are endless and often unseen. Many times there is no recognition, yet we go each day doing the things we are called to do.

We all have these incredible superhero powers and yet most of us hide them or are afraid of them or we don’t even know the value of what we actually can do. I am guilty as charged here. I honestly thought for so many years that I didn’t add any value to anything I was doing. I knew I had the skill and was good at things, but I felt like I didn’t measure up to anyone around me, men or women. There were so many things I knew I could be good at but held myself from for fear of rejection. I had all these desires to be something and to do something and never did because I was focused, shall I say envious of the success of other women around me. I lost sight of me. What God created me to be and the abilities he instilled inside me.

I almost chickened out to try out for my high school drill team (yeah, I get it some of you may be thinking, really? Yes, really!). I didn’t know anyone on the team and didn’t have help to practice like I knew so many others had. But I worked through the fear inside me. I was terrified. I practiced after school on my own and had to try out in front of 3-4 judges and all the veterans of the drill team along with all the other girls trying out. There definitely were over 50 people watching. All eyes in my direction, every mistake, wrong move, the wrong form would be seen! Ahhh! The criticism, the rejection I was facing, had me so nervous I almost vomited. When I get super nervous ya’ll, I will throw up, lol. As I kept watching each group go up and perform, I kept repeating the only scripture I knew to repeat “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” over and over, keeping myself from running to the bathroom. And wouldn’t you know it? I made the team! It was such a liberating feeling knowing how fearful I was, but yet I overcame that. I knew I would be good at it too. That was the first time I truly decided to move fear aside and be vulnerable to rejection. I have always been too focused on the possibility of rejection and what other people think of me, that I never got to do the things I wanted to do. Or be who I know I could be. How sad that now in my 30’s I have discovered my worth. I have realized how God created me and I am going after what I feel He is calling me to do.

There are so many women in the bible that have incredible stories. They saw an opportunity (many times without knowing it) and did what they felt called to do. I was introduced to a story by a good friend of mine about two incredible women who had a call to action. Deborah, she was a prophetess and the only female judge mentioned in the bible (boom, you go girl) and a girl name Jael. I had known who Deborah was, but not how in this story she also went to war and foretold that the victory of Israel would not be because of Barak, the commander (and a man, just sayin) but by the hand of a woman, Jael. In Judges 4 Israel was at war with the Canaanites. Sisera, the Canaanite commander was looking for refuge. Jael went to greet him and welcomed him into her tent. She was hospitable, kind, gave him water, milk, a blanket and a place to rest his head. Because that’s what we’re supposed to do as women right? Once Sisera the Canaanite commander fell asleep Jael saw her opportunity, she was an Israelite and knew they were at war. Using the tools that she had she did what she felt called to do. As Sisera was sleeping, she grabbed a tent peg and a hammer. She gently went to where Sisera was and pounded that peg into the temple of his head until it was staked into the ground. What a beast, right!? I can’t imagine what her muscles looked like, lol. She just did all the womanly duties expected by women and then, boom, she changed history for her country! She created momentum for the Israelites as this was the beginning of the defeat of the Canaanites reign over Isreal. If you guys don’t believe me read the story for yourself, Judges 4.  Jael was inventive, creative, a problem solver, a strategist, beautiful (I believe), a hostess, kind, gentle (lol), respectful and a hero. She had a call to action and she did not hesitate.

How incredible! This woman was so many things. She reminds me of a shirt I have that says, somewhere between 90’s rap and Proverbs 31! Because come on, we are not just sweet, innocent, polite, quiet, stay in the background kind of people. We are fierce. We have grit. And we know how to grind as much as the person next to us, man or woman. There is not much background story about Jael, and she is not mentioned in the children’s church stories, and she should be. But she changed the fate of her country.

So if you are like me and feel like you can’t make a difference, that you are not smart enough, capable enough, tactical enough or important enough, get out of your head. God created us for a purpose and for a moment in time to change history for ourselves and others around us. Don’t feel like you are not contributing to anything because you are. You don’t need a title to prove what you are. Don’t undermine what you do. Know you are worth more than you think. Understand that you have specialized skills set apart from the person next to you. Do not compare your life with someone else (I know it’s hard). Don’t let fear, criticism or rejection stand in your way of achieving things you know deep down you can do. Just go for it. And while we are going for our dreams and overcoming our insecurities, cheer on the girl next to you. We need to empower each other. When we know our own worth, we should then empower others to know theirs. And when you get a team of women together who are operating in the skills that God has given them, watch out. The force is undeniable. Girl power is life. Cheers, to Women’s History Month.