Boys vs Girls

"And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs."

Nehemiah 3:12

So today my dad FINALLY decided to fix the floor in our kitchen. It was pretty funny. Every time I went into the kitchen I had to smile at it. I mean seriously how many people put holes in their kitchens the size of a coffin?? I know, I know a seriously gruesome joke but still there was just something fun about the whole situation. Probably the fact that my dad and I worked together and joked with each other. I've been thinking lately how differently my dad would have probably treated us girls if he had been given a son. Part of me wonders if we would have been pampered, treated as princesses, made to do little to no hard labor. Instead we were raised to learn how to mow the yard (not that THAT's a hard thing to learn.... haha), how to check the oil, the tire pressure, how to fix a kitchen floor, getting under a trailer home and pulling out insulation (ugh...hated when I had to do that.....every summer....blah.) These are just a few things that we've been taught. We also learned what it meant to be leaders in a church, to be the ones who go down to the church and no one else show up, to be the worship/youth/children/lawn care providers. Then as daughters we were expected to learn what it meant to cook, clean and respect a male authority in our lives. I thank God that we weren't given a brother. Please don't get me wrong. I would have LOVED having a brother. Yet, as I look back I feel that God knew what He was doing when He gave my dad all girls. My father has helped mold and shape three beautiful, strong, independent (well if we need to be..haha), intelligent women. I love this verse from Nehemiah. When I read it over the winter break it hit me like a ton of bricks. Isn't it amazing how the most seemingly menial verse can speak to your heart like a rain in the desert? That's how it was for me. I am a daughter working with my father toward the betterment and growth of the Kingdom of God. No one can tell me that I don't have a right to stand beside my father and help him just because I'm a female. I have a mind, an intellect, a heart and a soul. I have something more to offer this world than food, children and a comfortable home for my husband. God help me to become a woman after His own heart. A woman like the judge Deborah, like the humble yet strong Ruth, the compassionate but passionate Rahab, and the young but wise Mary....just to name a few. Women who were worthy. Women deemed necessary in God's word. Lord mold me into a woman like them.