In his Image

As I walked through the streets of London yesterday, I decided I must look a little daft. Dressed for a meeting, except for my shoes which were covered in Donald Duck and my backpack covered in Mickey Mouse. Eccentric as I may have looked, I refuse to walk across London in heels. However my attire was a good metaphor for how I think, life should be taken seriously but we need to laugh, sometimes even at ourselves.  So yes I looked some what unique but that is the point really, I am unique.

Each of us are God's creation, everyone of us of equal value in the eyes of our Almighty Father in whose image we were made. Part of the amazing power and wonder of God's creation is that each of us are unique. We were created to be individual, diverse and unique. This does not make us of less value.

Today is International Women's Day, there are many women around the world from whom I have received great inspiration, Our Holy Mother is one of them. Far from being a weak and submissive, she faced her fears and the persecution of others when she chose to accept the life God asked of her. The choice she made will not have been an easy one, she risked losing it all. She had to place her life in God's hands and have faith that it would all play out just the way God had promised her.

In accepting God's request of her she knew that she would not be conforming to the demands that society had asked of her. In today's society there are many demands put on women. One of the most demanding of which is to be the same as a Man, it is the one I find most perplexing because quite simply I am not a man. I have no burning desire to take my God given uniqueness and trample on the opposite sex just to prove I am as good as them. I already know that I am as good as them (as does God). By all means we deserve equal rights, we deserve to be paid the same for the same jobs, we should have the right to vote. However, there are somethings which are God given. God gave us man and woman, they are not and were not the same. That is what makes us special and of value to one another as we compliment each other.  I think we are very much endanger of losing sight of our uniqueness and qualities that God gave us in trying to prove we are something that we are not.

Today I pray that like our Holy Mother, I have the strength to say to God "Be it unto me according to thy word". That in doing so, I bring up my daughter to value both men and women equally. That we treat those who think differently to us as though they are our friends and not our enemies. As all are loved in the kingdom of God. I ask too that Mary will pray for us all, that we may all be like her and show grace, mercy and strength today and everyday.