A Female History Maker

We went to see Cabrini in theaters today, and this woman who I had never heard of suddenly struck me as the kind of woman I want our children, especially our girls, to know about.

Francis Xavier Cabrini was an Italian nun who came to New York City and fought the system to make things better for Italian immigrants. She made a home for street children living in the sewer. She saw prostitutes with the eyes of Jesus. She spoke up for those with no voice and stayed in authority while going up the chain of command for help. She even went as far as going back to Italy in order to follow her orders to only solicit money from Italians.

And as I watched the story of this incredible woman and recognized traits that I already see developing in our daughters (ages 3 & almost 5), I found myself wondering what they will accomplish in the future. I also found myself with a desire to teach our girls about women like Cabrini, who created lasting change and created a legacy of hope and healing. I want our girls not to be afraid of speaking in places where people say they don’t belong. I want them to have the courage and wisdom to use whatever resources are at their disposal to further God’s kingdom. I want them to walk fearlessly in places where even the police won’t go. I want them to have a mission from God so bold that they are willing to risk everything to accomplish it. I want to empower them even now with the tools and beliefs that they need to make things happen in the future. I want them to learn the stories of women like Cabrini, Amy Carmichael, Gladys Aylward, and Elisabeth Elliott.

I believe that we are raising the next generation of world changers, and I believe that they will do great things. I love this quote from Douglas Wilson,  “Stop feeling sorry for your kids and grandkids. Why would we raise generations of dragon slayers and be disappointed to have dragons for them to fight? Cheer up. It’s more dangerous than you thought.”

And that is the gist of it, I think. There are still “dragons” loose in the world that need conquering. While I can not fight them all by myself, I can empower our children and broaden my influence on future generations. In turn, they can influence the generations after them. And so I will teach them. I will teach them to stand up for what is right. I will teach them to use their voices and their influence to change the world. I will instill confidence in them and a deep faith in God’s goodness and power. I will help them see people as Jesus sees them. I will point them to God as the source of power and authority. And I will cheer them on as they make their way in the world.

Thus ends Women’s History Month for 2024 with my belief that I am currently raising female future history-makers.

Prayer, Power, Harvest

How much would change in my life if I changed one small thing today, and continued that small thing every day?

Recently, several things in my life have seemed to be centered around the theme of the importance of small things. The sermon at church last Sunday. My current audiobook. Conversations with a friend. My own thoughts and recognition of how my life has been changing this year.

When I was a child, I had huge dreams of being a medical missionary pilot to a remote tribe somewhere deep in the mountains of some faraway country. I dreamed of flying patients out for medical treatment, serving them in a tangible way while learning their language and culture, and being able to preach the Gospel to them in that way. I worked on learning new languages. I devoured books like Lords of the Earth, Peace Child, Bruchko, The Wind Blows Wild, and Flying Canada. I even started pursuing medical training, starting with my first official first-aid training around age 11 or 12. I researched mission organizations trying to find the “perfect” one that I would like to go with in the future. But then life happened, and my dreams changed.

I got married and had a few children. And I had to battle. I had so many thoughts about what even was the point of my life now that I was a mom. Why did I even bother with all the training and classes and desires that apparently didn’t mean anything now? Did I do all those things just so I could have cool stories to tell our children? Maybe all those dreams I had were actually for our children to fulfill. I couldn’t see any possible way that those dreams would now become a reality now that my life was completely overtaken by raising small humans. Time and time again, I turned to God and said, “I will trust You. I will hold my dreams with an open hand, and will continue walking in what I know to be the right thing for right now.”

(Now, do NOT read into this that I regret having children or that I am a victim of motherhood. This is most certainly not true. But motherhood has brought further levels of surrender and trust that I needed. And it was good.)

And so I kept walking through life. Living life every day with the children. Doing small, seemingly insignificant, things every day. I couldn’t see a huge change. I even wondered at times if motherhood was even a calling. The act of mothering and raising small children has not been difficult for me for the most part, so I’ve wondered if I was doing something wrong.

Then I started wondering, how can I be an even better mother? How can I make sure that our children have the best foundation possible? How can I change myself so that I have endless patience, never feel stressed, and never feel like I have to get loud to be heard? And on Sunday, I was reminded of how. “Prayer, power, harvest” was a phrase that our pastor kept repeating. We have to start with prayer. After we’ve spent time in prayer, we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is after that filling that we are able to be active in the harvest. As a mom, our children are part of that harvest. That is my calling right now. That is my “big thing”. How much would change, if I intentionally took time to spend focused time in prayer every day? A single prayer isn’t a big thing, but consistency in prayer can lead to big things. (I know, I know, for all of my readers who were brought up in the religious legality of having a set prayer time every day, this must seem scandalous that I don’t have that at this time. It’s been part of deconstruction for me, and I’m still figuring it out.)

Yesterday, I was working on a book that I am writing with and for some friends, and I realized that I can wait til I have all the things done and have a nice chunk of time set aside for working on the project. Or I can keep my computer and headphones accessible and visible and do 10 min here or 30 min there. If I can do that, I’ll have a few hours logged at the end of every week, and the project will continue moving along. Once again it’s one of those “small things”.

My current audiobook is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. In it, Jeff talks repeatedly about how big breakthroughs are actually a culmination of many small decisions and steps that led up to that point. Edison didn’t invent a working lightbulb in one day. It took 100s of tries. NASA didn’t decide one morning to suddenly send a man to the moon. There were years of inventions, trials, and computations more than we can imagine. These small things, these small decisions that we make every day may seem completely insignificant, but if we keep after them, they will change our lives. These things can work both positively and negatively. What small things are we allowing in our lives, and where will those small things take us in five years?

I have spent a significant amount of brain space on this topic this last week, and I’ve been pondering all the many small areas in my life where I could improve. While thinking of where I could improve, I’ve also started to recognize areas where I’ve taken small steps already and what that has led to in my current status.

Always saying yes to what I believe God wants me to do has given me a husband, three children, and an amazing life that I could never have dreamed of on my own.

Becoming more disciplined in writing has led to the completion of my first book and the opportunity to help someone else write theirs.

Reading books nearly every day to our children has led to our 4-year-old begging to learn how to read.

Being more intentional about drinking more liquids every day has led to fewer headaches from dehydration and an increased awareness of when I need water.

Choosing to fill my working hours with audiobooks instead of TV shows has led to the completion of 76 books this year and an expanded awareness of various things in our world.

So many of these things would be just as easy to not do. They don’t take that much effort in the moment, and there are no immediate bad consequences if you don’t do them. However, I can see the effects when I choose to do them, so I will continue to do so. I am also looking for more small ways to improve. And honestly, small things seem much more doable in this season of life. I don’t have the energy to tackle a huge undertaking right now.

What small ways are you improving your life?