When my daughter came home from Sunday school and told me that she had learned that women were bad, it was a wake up call for me. That moment made me realize the unsettled and void space within me finally had a source: In my journey as a Christian, women have not been uplifted to the position that God originally intended. From that moment on, I became acutely aware of how many ways women have been made to feel inadequate and unworthy, pushing us to inwardly ask, "Can we do anything right?" We are made to feel too fat, ugly, stupid, too old, too emotional; the list is endless. Once I realized this I began wondering, "Why?" Ephesians 6 had the answer: We are in a spiritual battle. I believe in this battle, women must be extremely valuable for good, or evil would not try so hard to keep us down.
I have been teaching children for over 10 years. I have noticed that regardless of the age and economic status of the girl, they are always portraying themselves as an object first and valued human being, second. The music videos, movies, and television shows they watch indoctrinate them daily; that they are not good enough as they are. They suggest to girls that their worth comes from how provocatively they can dress, and how many people they can seduce/have sex with. Sadly, there is a double whammy with this indoctrination: not only do the girls grow up believing they are not good enough as they are, it causes us, as females, to battle among ourselves. We have become our own worst enemies, competing for attention and rank, instead of being the powerful support system we should be to each other.
My mission is to reteach women to rethink who they are. I believe this is possible starting with a spiritual beginning. The degrading attitude towards women is universal. It can be seen in most religions/cultures in one form or another. This is unacceptable. I believe that the shadowy, void feeling, that we try desperately to fill by twisting ourselves into the newest societal whim, can be filled by understanding our divine place as beloved daughters of God.
