Time

I was thinking today as I alternated between tending my child, getting myself ready for the day, catching the latest news and weather, and heading out to my inlaws for the afternoon. My daughter doesn't understand what time is, yet. She thinks it is a word that describes clocks, watches, naps, eating, going somewhere, and Bible class collectively. Even once she is old enough to understand the concept, it will mean little to her life as an innocent and happy child for quite some time. By the time she is a teenager, time will rule her life; time to get up, time for school, time to go to work, time for whatever extracurricular activity she enjoys, time to go, time to come home, time for bed. Only as she becomes an adult, with a family and responsibilities of her own, will she understand that time is not infinite and must be at times carefully managed, and at times studiously ignored. I have many interests and many responsibilities, and often feel that meeting all of them is impossible. And if by that I mean meeting them all at once, it would be impossible. I have to do one thing at a time, realizing that time is only a tool given to me to use. If I crowd my life with tasks and goals, I have abused, not used, the time I have been given. Sometimes, my house will be spotless, my laundry will all be done, and my supper will be cooked perfectly and on time. Sometimes, I will be able to write several pages on my latest work. Sometimes, none of that happens. Sometimes, I stop looking at the clock and just enjoy watching my daughter grow without thinking about how much older she will be tomorrow. Sometimes, I stop looking at the clock and talk to my husband until we have no more words to say. Maybe I will never have the time to write the great American novel. Assuredly I will never have the time to make an appearance in Good Housekeeping. I will never have time to achieve success as the world sees it. But when I look back on my time, I will have timeless memories of life and love, and I will know that I spent my time in the way God gave it to me to be spent.

Introduction to my book

I would like to introduce my first published book. The name of it is God's Woman: Reflections from the Scriptures, and it is a women's Bible study book. It uses the concept of looking in the mirror to connect the stories of several Bible women and the lessons learned from each of them. It would be a great tool for personal Bible study, as well as a good classbook for women or teenage girls. A few of the women discussed are Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Mary, and Lois and Eunice. My goal in writing the book was to share my thoughts from personal study in the hope of helping other women who struggle with the same issues I do surrounding living a godly life in an ungodly world. I am including the introduction to the book as a sample reading in this blog post. If anyone is interested in the book, it can be found on Amazon.com, and can also be ordered from www.createspace.com/3526413.

Introduction

            Throughout history, women seem to have had a fascination with looking at their own images. Archeology has uncovered examples of mirrors in perhaps every culture on earth, some of bronze, silver, or other metals, some of glass. There are many material reasons to look at oneself in a mirror. We as women are very concerned with our physical image, so we use mirrors to determine if any blemishes flaw our appearance, to add cosmetic aids in order to improve our countenance, to arrange our hair in ways that enhance our more pleasant features, or to ensure that our clothing fits properly and becomes our natural appearance.

 In James 1:23-25, the Word of God is compared to a mirror in which a man looks at himself to determine what kind of man he is - what kind of image he is presenting to the world. A man who looks at his image, sees the inevitable flaws in himself, and goes away unconcerned with no intention of doing anything to eliminate those flaws is condemned. On the other hand, the man who willingly uses that mirror image of himself as a tool with which to improve his spiritual appearance is blessed.

As women we can understand this concept very well. A woman who gets up in the morning, looks in the mirror at her messy image, and then goes about her daily business without brushing her hair or her teeth, washing her face, putting on appropriate clothing for her tasks, or otherwise taking steps to make her appearance acceptable to others is going to find herself lonely and ineffective at whatever task she tries to accomplish. Others will look at her and see only a slob who cares nothing for herself, and infer that such a person is unlikely to show any greater concern for anyone or anything else. However, the woman who takes steps to make herself clean and orderly and dresses herself with care according to the tasks she has set before her will be shown respect and attention, and will find that the way toward accomplishing her goals has been smoothed and shortened by the willing help of others.

God has provided many opportunities throughout scripture for a woman to view herself in a spiritual mirror and examine herself for flaws. Each woman mentioned in the Bible contributes another element of our reflection. Some of those elements are flaws that need to be addressed and eliminated from our image. Others are spiritual cosmetics and appropriate garments that should be used to make our spiritual image more pleasing to God. As we examine our souls in this mirror God has provided for us, what reflection do we see looking back at us? Which of these flaws glare back at us, and what are we willing to do in order to eliminate them? Are we truly seeking spiritual beauty, or are we willing to live our spiritual lives being seen as slobs by the God who can determine our eternal fate?