I guess I should begin with explaining what a "Stout" Woman is and that leads to the first woman that I'm going to write about...My Mom. So this will probably make her cry since yesterday's post did so Mom I apologize in advance for any tears you may cry. I love you very much. Several years ago when my dad's mom, Virginia died my mom and her best friend Jan went down to her house to set up an estate sale. Now my dad's parents had some land and they had cows. So while my mom and Jan were in Warner my dad asked them to take care of the cows. It was very cold the day of the estate sale so my mom had to go chop ice on the pond for the cows as well as making sure they got some feed. So my mom and Jan went out the field to feed the cows and chop the ice. When the Indian man that had helped my grandparents for years came by to check on them and see if they need anything, he was surprised to find out that my mom had already fed the cows and chopped the ice. He told my mom that she was a stout woman. This was quite a compliment for my mom, after all I have to agree she is stout woman.
Webster's defines stout as: brave, bold, determined, obstinate, uncompromising, sturdy, vigorous, staunch, enduring. I only hope that I can live up to this definition. My mom fits many of these definitions. She is brave. I think about her moving to Oklahoma as a newlywed, away from her family. She learned to form a support group to help her as she raised by brother and myself. She made friends that became family. My mom is also determined. She like her mother sets her mind to do something and she does it. I spent many summers in Georgia watching those two women work side by side to put up vegetables and can fruit jellies. She is bold she is not afraid to speak her mind. She is enduring, she has stuck with my brother and myself through many difficult situations. She is sturdy and when trouble come she doesn't run away but faces it. She has taught me how to persevere and the value of hard work.
I think of Mary the mother of Jesus. She was a stout woman. Can you imagine, being a young woman, unmarried and pregnant? This was punishable by death in Mary's time. She must have been so brave to carry the savior of the world in her womb and to travel to Bethlehem nine months pregnant on the back of a donkey. To give birth in a dirty stable. She must have been scared but she didn't let her fears stand in her way. She was determined to keep Jesus safe. Remember how her and Joseph fled after Herod came looking for them. They traveled again by donkey to Egypt with a newborn. A new mother trying to figure it out on her own. Her own mother wasn't nearby to teach her what to do. She was enduring. She did her best to raise this child so he could fulfill his purpose. Can you imagine the grief and sadness she felt as she felt as she watched her son die? Yes Mary is indeed a strong woman.
What kind of woman is the Lord calling you to become? Bold?, Determined? Obstinate? Uncompromising? Strong? Enduring? Oh that we would become women who earnestly seek the Lord's face, that we would become stout women who serve the Lord.
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