EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of a two part series on National Women’s History Month.
As she peered up at me, her little eyes unfocused and strained, I smiled. Her tiny fists pressed tightly to her chest as she adjusted to the intrusive, outside world I had known for some limited 25 years. My arms more than gathered her tiny body to my chest. My very own niece… Miss Tobi Faye. My sister, Jess, had labored and waited for hours for this baby girl to come into the world, and had further more labored and waited for years to become a mom. As our mom, nana, aunt, sister-in-law, and Jess’ mother-in-law gathered around Jess and Tobi, I couldn't help but see a room full of legacy.
The room was filled to the brim with women who had fought battles, experienced injustice, raised children, overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, witnessed victory, and so much more. And all these legends were gathered around one tiny life. It was as if each woman in that hospital room, beaming and cooing, had a part in this future difference maker.
March is National Women’s History Month, and we, the Church, have the solemn privilege to raise up new legacies and future matriarchs. We can find great hope and victory in remembering the stories of women that have gone before us, while pressing on to facilitating new stories in the lives of women younger than us. Our history as Christian women is not just about the past, it’s also about what is being built now to create the history to come… It's about the present too.
In honor of everything this month represents to women in the Church, let us reflect on how we might develop and spur on the legacies that will come after us.
What does it mean to encourage women’s legacies that are not yet, but are to come?
It means intentionality. We must intentionally seek out mentee relationships with younger women and girls (Titus 2:3-5). We must intentionally engage them with the Gospel (Matthew 28:18-20). We must intentionally converse with them about the things of God and everyday life (Colossians 4:6).
It means sacrifice. We must sacrifice our own time and belongings (2 Corinthians 5:15). We must often sacrifice our own dreams in order to lift up the girls that will carry the torch when we are gone (John 15:13).
It means honesty. We must be honest with ourselves and our sin (Psalm 139). We must be honest with our struggles and share our short-comings with younger women (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). We must honestly seek out God’s will for the young girls in our lives, and what our role might look like in that. We must honestly assess the current direction of our efforts… “Am I building my kingdom or His?”
It means advocacy. We must advocate for women’s biblical role in the church. We must advocate for the baby that might not have a chance for life in the face of abortion. We must advocate for the orphan who does not have a mother to guide her (James 1:27). We must advocate for the young woman that is scared to go full-term with her unexpected pregnancy (1 Thesselonians 5:14). We must advocate for the refugee that is trying to make her way in a new, free country (Deuteronomy 10:18).
It means love. We must love the young women that the world, and in some cases, even the church has cast aside (Galatians 5:14). We must love this new generation of girls, despite the quirks and foreign aspects of a modern age (John 13:34-35). We must love God’s Word into the lives of the girls around us (Psalm 119:105). We must love the Lord God so much that it seeps into the lives of those around us (Matthew 22:37).
These are a lot of “musts,” my sisters. Do not grow discouraged, for God is doing a work in you (Philippians 1:6). He is the One that will accomplish His will in you and in your efforts to raise up a generation of women that seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). Carry these “musts” to the courtrooms, to the living rooms, to the abortion clinic rooms, to the Bible study rooms, to the church nursery rooms. Carry these “musts” with you to make room for the women yet to come.
Meet the Author!
Hannah Hanzel is an opinionated, passionate gal that loves sharing what God is doing in her often busy and complicated life. She strives to show God's glory in working as the Art Director for the Baptist Messenger, serving as a multi-client freelance graphic designer, and communing with CRBC. When she's not working, you can find her sipping coffee in a hammock, watching classic '40s movies, or going on an adventure with friends or family.
