Glorying in Femininity

"You are worthy, O Lord,

To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created."
Rev. 4:11

"Feminists are dedicated to the proposition that the difference between men and women is a matter of mere biology. The rest of us recognize a far deeper reality, one that meets us on an altogether different plane from mere anatomical distinctions. It is unfathomable and indefinable, yet men and women have tried ceaselessly to fathom and define it. It is unavoidable and undeniable, yet in the past couple of decades earnest and high-sounding efforts have been made in the name of decency, equality, and fairness, at least to avoid it and, whenever possible, to deny it. I refer, of course, to femininity-a reality of God’s design and God’s making, His gift to me and to every woman-and, in a very different way, His gift to men as well. If we really understood what femininity is all about, perhaps the question of roles would take care of itself." ~Elisabeth Elliot

I've been thinking quite a bit recently about how glad I am I'm a young woman. When I was eight or nine, I was indifferent on the subject. I did not wish I had been born a boy like some of my tom-boy friends, but I wasn't particularly attached to having been born a girl. Whatever God had made me was what I was. I didn't think about questioning it. At that point there was little that differentiated my life from my brother's. We lived in the same house, watched the same movies, played the same games, did all the same things together...I didn't have quite so many sisters, and thus not quite so many tea-parties.

But as I have grown, I've come to rejoice in my femininity. First, as I was 11, 12, 13 it was the delight in pretty things...only a woman could go into raptures over the beauty of a flower, or an adorable baby, or a new way of dressing one's hair. A man might notice such things, but he does not, as a general rule, go into raptures.

A few more years and I was fifteen and sixteen, and beginning to notice differences in the things I could do versus what my brother could. Boys, however hard they try, can not quiet babies quite so efficiently as a young lady. Daniel went to work with Dad every day. I could stay at home baking, sewing, and putting all the gentle touches on our life that only a woman can devise and enact.A few more years and you have me now at nineteen, a young woman who is delighted to be just that: A woman. I can honestly say I do not envy the men's lot. At times I might think it's rather hard to have to wait for my Prince Charming to find me. "The men can just pick who they will and get married when they choose!" ;)
But as I've "aged", I've grown a little wiser and have found, to my surprise (though I don't know why) that the young men have a much harder time of it than we girls. They have to make a huge decision in these years we are spending in gentle, pleasant pursuits. They have to choose a career that will support you and an entire family, (many of these young men looking at a rather large family in the future) train for that career, and make enough money to really be a man.
When I compare that vast, foreboding task with my prettyisms here at home, I cling to my femininity and thank God that He saw fit to make me a woman.

I like dressing in cute, pretty, feminine clothes.

I like holding my handsome little Levi and knowing that someday, perhaps not too far off, the baby in my arms will be my own, connected to me in a beautifully mysterious way.

I like going out in public and letting men open doors for me while I thoroughly enjoy myself.

I like the role I will play in my future home. Helpmeet. Isn't that a simply wonderful job?

Perhaps it is my personality, but I can't wait to be a helper, a servant, and a queen to my husband. I am a bit shy, really, but I love to be in close contact with the people out in the front of things. That's why I can't wait to be the supporting love behind my man. To make him succeed, while keeping in the background. Vitally important to his success, and glorying in my role.

I'm privileged to be a woman. I love it. I love everything connected to being a woman, and I delight in my femininity. Why on earth would I trade this sweet existence for being a career-oriented feminist vying with the men to scratch out a living in the wide wide world?
No thanks. :) ~Rachel
p.s. all photos courtesy of google images and weheartit.com (And yes, I am on a fifties kick recently. ;)