“Hold on to your innocence, stand your ground when everybody’s giving in.”

- Martina McBride

This week I have been thinking about girls… big girls, young girls, college girls and little girls. And I have decided it ain’t easy being a girl. We have to look good, feel good, act good, and be good. The temperature rises to a haunting inferno. All this…and everyone is watching…friends, boyfriends, husbands, and families. No wonder we give up. No wonder we snap. No wonder we cry. No wonder we collapse. The pressure is untenable. Who can withstand the scrutiny? Who can understand the melting pot? Who can keep us from slipping off the tightrope? Who can make the mountain edges easy? As we retreat from the flames of the fiery furnace let us renew our strength and vision. “Lord, illuminate our hearts with your splendor. Give us wisdom to rest our noisy souls in your holy silence. We pray for guidance to let go, to hold on, or to nothing…but wait. Give us courage to hit pause…and STAND OUR GROUND…in you.  Oh Lord, equip us to withstand the inferno of being “Miss Everything.” Help us drop the plastic smile, the plastered pieces, and the wounded mess. Forgive our ignorance and renew our efforts on your behalf. Guide us to your truth. We love you, now and always. Amen.” Now let’s look at a few notable women of the Bible. The deceived ones. The inspiring ones. The gutsy ones.  The ‘reconnaissance women’ that went before us. What can they teach us right now?

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed.  “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. –Genesis 2:22-24

Sometimes the trouble with families is they idolize their children. They live their unfulfilled football, baseball, or desire for “better things” through their children. Marriages are dysfunctional. Husbands are unfaithful…either with another woman or with their greedy consumption for MORE stuff. And “the children” become the driving force, the motivation, the holy altar of existence. I think Eve taught us a thing or two about family. Maybe we should read and study her predicament. John MacArthur says some wonderful things about Eve in his book, ‘Twelve Extraordinary Women’- “No other woman could possibly surpass Eve’s grace, charm, virtue, ingenuity, intelligence, wit and innocence. She was a wonderful illustration of the goodness of God’s grace and the perfect wisdom of His will. She was God’s special gift to man. She was the necessary partner and she complemented Adam perfectly and she enhanced everything in his existence. Eden was now truly paradise.” So…what happened? Eve was created as the perfect partner for Adam. Imagine the intimacy, the closeness, the strong love they shared…because it was a gift from God. Eve was not made the same as Adam. She was made from “a part” of him. Wow… Eve blew it. The Bible clearly says Eve was “deceived.” We don’t know exactly what that means…did she love Adam so much that she was ‘not on guard’ or was she simply distracted? All we know is that Eve plunged humanity into the toilet forever. Because of her…sin crept in our families, homes, and loved ones. It causes us to worship our children over Christ. It causes men to look on another woman with lust. It causes child abuse. It created pornography. It causes all of us to live, love, and be a part of a “fallen family.” There is not one family that is perfect…none; because Eve lost her focus. Eve was tempted…even tricked. Eve was deceived. Are we deceived? This perfect woman for Adam slipped. Don’t we slip? I do. I can feel for Eve. On a day when Eve wasn’t on guard…the snake slithered in. And the cost was catastrophic. Take a good look at Eve and gain perspective. Don’t idolize your children. Idolize Him. Don’t run so fast you lose the race and the journey. Don’t be deceived by your children, your husband, or your circumstances…for  the results can be just as catastrophic for you as they were for Eve. I cannot imagine the degree of regret Eve experienced. To have God in the garden with you. To have his presence. To have his love and wisdom. And then to be stripped of everything and ‘put out’ of His sacred place…there must have been some staggering lessons for Adam and Eve. Consider the cost…

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. –John 3:16 (The Message)

So, this week I have had girls on my mind. My niece is in New York…going to school. My youngest daughter is peeking over the fence for her God sized adventure. My oldest daughter is praying and sorting…waiting on a new group God sends to impact. My little girls in Guyana…wait for a Christmas only God could orchestrate. My sister and my mom are letting go. And me? I just had to stop. I had to remember His promises, His stories, and His plans.  I have to believe pastor Terry Covey, “Before Genesis 1:1, there was John 3:16. Before there was ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’, there was ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. ‘The decision had already been made for how God would save the world from its sin and the plan had already been established that the Savior would come – ‘born of a woman.’ God used Eve as the perfect helpmate to Adam. And God used Mary to restore a broken chasm. Nothing catches the Master off guard. But girls…we need to dig in. We need to give up. We need to let go. We need to quit worrying about ‘looking good’ on the outside when we are breaking on the inside. “Miss Everything” took a tumble in the garden… dig those feet into The Rock. Although you wobble, limp, and bleed…He sets your course for victory. Look at the cross… “Stand your ground when everybody else is giving in.” This hope is for you. Next week we will look at another woman for inspiration…until then…be silent in His presence. He heals from the inside out.

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