Which Woman are You?

I walk alongside the beautiful and the ugly, the heartbroken and the mended.  A few of the women I see:

The single woman.  She is beautiful and yet she is lonely.  She longs for the day she will meet her husband.  Her home is empty, and this is both blessing and curse.  Her time is plenty, and she can choose to fill it with fun and hobbies and friendships galore, but her heart aches for a family yet to be seen.

The divorced woman.  She works hard every single day.  She misses her husband, the idea of a helper to raise her kids and the chance to get a break.  She has kids, but it is hard to raise kids all a.l.o.n.e. with no one to h.e.l.p.  She does her best and at times her best is just not good enough.  Sometimes, she just waits for his weekend.  And yet, she has kids, something the single woman does not have.

The married woman, with husband and no kids - a womb that will not grow babies just yet.  Sometimes the painful empty house is more than she can bare.  And yet, she has a husband with love to grow.

The married woman with kids and a husband who hides, remains unavailable.  Her life is at times not much different than the single mom with kids.  She longs for his adoring embrace - his passion for her and the kids to grow and not wane.  And yet, she has kids and a husband, even though not fully there, occasionally his arms she does embrace.

The married woman with husband fully there, who has kids more demanding than she thought she could bare.  Special needs.  She wonders if when the rest of the kids leave the nest, this one will keep them a party of 3 all the many days left.  And yet, she has a husband, fully engaged, and kids to love her too.

The married woman with husband fully there, kids "normal."  The days of freedom and friendships changed and long gone.  Dreams unfulfilled, but can she really complain?

The married woman with empty nest.  Life has come and gone.  Kids have flown the coop.  Figuring it all out again was not what she thought she would have to do.  And yet, she is not alone.

The grandmother and husband who thought life would be fun, footloose, and carefree, now that the kids are gone, but unexpectedly, parents to the grandchildren they've become.  What?  Not me for such a time as this?

The widow whose husband has died before his time.  Her kids long gone.  She wishes for the days when her home was full.  A companion to keep her from being blue.  She cares for her aging parents and wishes she saw more life and less death.  And yet, she still has someone to care for.

The old aged married woman.  Her husband alive, whose mind has long since been dead.  Some days she wishes he would move on to the other side and be free, and yet, he still helps her plant the flowers in the garden she loves so.

We walk alongside each other every day, passing each other along the way.  In each mind we think they have something we wish we had.  We hope, we wish, we dream.  We cannot see the good thing that we each have believing the one passing by does not ever cry.  Some of us fill the longing with rebellion, some with addiction, and some are set free by Jesus.

Which woman are you?  

Which one have you seen today?  

Which one will you see?

No matter what life you have or what stage you are in - rest in Jesus.  

You are not forgotten.  You are loved.  You are longed for.  

And He sees.  He knows.  He loves.  He heals.  He sets free.  

Hug the brokenhearted today, and allow someone to hug you.

Jesus, give us eyes to see, and help us to be Your Touch for each hope and broken dream unfulfilled.

This post was inspired by the women who've intersected my life.  I cannot begin to imagine to walk in each one of their shoes, but I see their lives as a pieces of a larger whole - a fine piece of art which captures beauty and suffering in each individual and makes for an even more beautiful whole.  Sometimes, life is very ordinary, sometimes mundane, and sometimes, you just wish for mundane or ordinary.  But our lives are so very beautifully crafted by the God who sees for a purpose greater than you or I begin to understand - until He gives us eyes to see.