Have you ever thought about the difference between joy and happiness? They may seem like the same thing. Society uses them interchangeably. According to dictionary.com they are synonyms. So what is the difference? I bet if you thought about it awhile you could identify times in your life when you were happy and other times in your life when you were full of joy. I recently heard it explained like this, happiness is an emotion that is temporary and can be caused by all sorts of external stimuli whereas joy is a state of being that is permanent and from God.
I could get way off my original topic here and dive into why this explanation makes so much sense in what seems to be a modern society so lost and searching for happiness in all the wrong places. But I won't for now, that may be a post in the near future. What I want to focus on today is the joy of womanhood, specifically the greatest joy of womanhood.
Now, I am sure you can think of a few songs off the top of your head that describe the happiness and power of being a woman. Two that top my list are Man, I feel like a woman and I will survive. What I love about these songs is that while society is telling us that women are just as good as men, these songs are praising women for being women. A woman is not good because or only if she can do everything as well as a man can. A woman is good because she has a whole set of skills that only she can do.
And that leads me to the greatest joy of womanhood: the act of bringing forth life. Based on my previous explanation of joy, in order for it to truly be joy it has to be from or of God. Also, in order for it to be the greatest joy of womanhood it has to be something that is unique to woman. While I wish that just putting those two things out there as explanation was enough, today's society makes it abundantly clear that we have completely lost sight of both of these things. I am not sure one is any easier to explain than the other and they are intertwined so thoroughly. God gives life. God created the world, everything in it, on it and above it. He created man and woman in His own image and instructed them to be fruitful, multiply and subdue the earth. Simple enough but overlooked by many, even those considering themselves Christian.
God created us man and woman. Each gender has unique characteristics that the other gender does not possess. These differences should be celebrated. A woman is not less than a man, she is different from a man. It is a good thing that women cannot do everything a man does. Women are different than men and it is a good thing. I consider myself fairly fit and strong, but Leron can still out lift and out endurance me any day and he doesn't even go to the gym 3 times a week, workout with a personal trainer or read articles about nutrition, proper exercise or health. He could also eat a cheeseburger and large fries and wash it down with a sugary drink 2 times a day for a week and not gain a single pound. If I ate that, I would put on 1 pound a day. He has strong hands that make him perfectly suited for doing the rough stuff, tending to cattle, tilling the ground, building things, fixing machinery, and protecting his girls. I have nimble hands that are perfectly suited for doing the soft stuff, holding my babies, bringing comfort with a touch, cooking, sewing, doing hair and creating beautiful music on a piano or flute. I don't want his job and he doesn't want mine. We are not made to be interchangeable. While he may be able to bring comfort with a touch, he is better at protecting in the first place. And while I may be able to shoot a shotgun, I am better at preparing the food after it is shot. In our house, we celebrate these God-given differences.
God instructed us to be fruitful and multiply. Wow, so much to say about this one. I will be blunt and honest and probably offend many with what I am going to say, but it is the truth. Be fruitful, right there black and white in the first chapter of the first book in the bible. With its prominent location, why is it so often overlooked? Be fruitful and multiply. Be fruitful and multiply, very simple. That means no birth control, no condoms, no vasectomy, no tubal ligation (for procreative reasons only), no homosexual acts, no abortion. Every time you engage with your spouse (yes, only your spouse) you need to be open to the transmission of life. Be fruitful and multiply. The Catholic Church in particular has come under attack recently for its stance on birth control especially with the release of the HHS mandate on birth control, sterilization and abortion coverage in health insurance plans. All Christian churches teach the bible, and there it is in the bible no birth control, sterilization or abortion. You can think that the Catholic Church is out of touch with the modern world. If you think this, you are more right that you even realize. The Catholic Church is out of touch with the modern world and for good reason. The modern world is screwed up and backwards. The Catholic Church is in touch with God's world. The Church is in touch with God's way, not man's way. The Church will not conform to the newest trend in society because the Church is bigger than society. The Church's firm stance on so many "controversial" issues makes it an easy target because unlike a politician, it doesn't change its view to fit the occasion.
God created us man and woman with unique characteristics and He instructed us to be fruitful and multiply. Which leads me back to my point, the greatest joy of womanhood is to do God's will. By doing God's will we will be woman and fruitful. The greatest joy of womanhood is to bring forth life. I sincerely hope you can see the dignity of a woman and see how it is everything that she is. The joy of womanhood is to be a true woman. Not an almost man or an empty vessel to be used for physical pleasure, a full woman with the potential to give life.
God Bless!
Hannah
The Farmer's Wife
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