Fight Like A Girl

“Fight Like A Girl: The Power Of Being A Woman” is the name of a fantastic book I am reading by Lisa Bevere.
My BIL gave it to me for Christmas, and although it usually only takes me a few days to finish a book, I am reading this one differently. I am reading it s-l-o-w-l-y. I am trying to take everything in.

Yes, it’s a “Christian” book, but it doesn’t deserve to be pigeon-holed. It has good stuff in it that every woman needs to hear. So I thought I’d share a little with you.

I really enjoyed the section entitled “Breaking Through The Static” … it basically talks about having the power to change your attitude.

Here’s an excerpt:

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For years I have heard many different and mixed messages about women. When I was younger I heard feminist leaders speak, but then there was always the static of their anger. As I grew I heard the voices of divorced women, and there was the noise of their disappointment, hurt, bitterness, and betrayal. In college I heard the philosophy of my sociology instructor, but there was the interference of her agenda. In church I heard the views of leaders, and frequently there was the static of religious systems. Each voice carried a portion of truth. These were true stories of hardship and injustice, of domination and loss. When I put these pieces together, I did not like the resulting picture or the options it presented me. I wanted something more. I wanted the dance. I wanted to smile. I wanted the city on the horizon.

As we journey toward the way things should be, each of us will travel from different places or perspectives, but it is imperative as women that we get there. In order to find our way, we must first turn off the ever-present static, for it dangerously muffles and distorts all we hear. This interference had become a constant in my life. What did the static say?

“Women are a problem.”

Have you heard this static?

Thankfully, over the years I have discovered that for every lie, there is an overriding truth: Women are not a problem … they are an answer.

You are an answer.

“No,” you may say, “I am not. I am a problem. You don’t know what my life has been like.” Quiet, listen, I am not speaking to your past; I am speaking to your future. If you believe you are an answer, you’ll approach life and relationships in an entirely different manner than if you believe you are a problem. Problems are negative, critical, and judgemental. Problems nag your life with their worries and fears. Oh, but solutions sound and feel very different. They are positive, hopeful, and life-giving in their wisdom. Answers comfort and slay fear with the power of love. If you believe you are a problem, sooner or later you will begin to act like one. Likewise, if you believe you are not intrinsically a problem but a solution, you will begin to act like one. Imagine what might happen if a whole generation of women got this. If they looked in the mirror each day and said, “I am an answer. I have the power to rock this world. I was created for good and not harm. I don’t need to roar, for I hold the power of the whisper.”

You are somebody’s answer. You are something’s answer. There is a problem out there only your presence can solve. There is a broken and wounded heart to which only you can administer healing. You are a voice to the mute. You are beauty amid desolation. You are not a victim; you are an answer.

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Most of you will know that I suffered from postnatal depression. It was the darkest, blackest time in my life so far. But the subsequent recovery and healing awakened something in me which has completely changed my thinking and attitude. I am a much more positive person now. I never thought I would be able to think that way. But I had put myself in a box.
Now I can see that I was thinking of myself as a problem, not a solution. Today I know that I am an answer. It may have taken me almost 30 years to figure it out, but I’m so glad I did.