The Essence of Femininity
When you hear the word “femininity” what sort of images come into your mind? The world lays out many different pictures of what femininity should look like, but God tells us it is a life of surrender. May the words of Elisabeth Elliot encourage you today in finding your “gateway to joy.”
“Unlike Eve, whose response to God was calculating and self-serving, the virgin Mary’s answer holds no hesitation about risks or losses or the interruption of her own plans. It is an utter and unconditional self-giving: “I am the Lord’s servant … May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). This is what I understand to be the essence of femininity. It means surrender.
Think of a bride. She surrenders her independence, her name, her destiny, her will, herself to the bridegroom in marriage … The gentle and quiet spirit of which Peter speaks, calling it “of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4), is the true femininity, which found its epitome in Mary.”
~ Elisabeth Elliot
“….as a woman, I realize that the essence of my femininity is surrender. When I marry, I surrender to a man I love. I surrender to him my body, my name, my future, my destiny, and I accept his. And when I become a mother, when I begin to become a mother, I surrender my body again to the giving of life for that child. These are unspeakably high privileges, but the exalted privilege requires humility–the going down into death. Jesus Himself, a man, led the way. He is most highly exalted. His name is above every name because He surrendered to the will of God.”
~ Elisabeth Elliot
“A holy woman’s object in life is a perfect union with the will of God, perfect conformity. And as we are conformed to the image of Christ and conform our wills to God, we will find that our joy is greater and greater. Humility and surrender can be your gateway to joy.”
~ Elisabeth Elliot