Be a river, not a swamp. -Victor M. Parachin
I read a story about a man who had climbed to the top of his field and was relatively well-known in his country. It had been a long struggle and he had suffered many hardships and often ridicule as he made his way up the ladder of success. One day he sat contemplating his past and how he had made it to the top. He thought of all the influences and the people who had an impact on his life. He thought of his deceased parents and all their years of labor and love. He thought too of his wife and her patience and sacrifice. His children were now grown, and they had made such an impact on his life and maturity through the years.
[restrict]
Finally, his thought wandered to the one event and one person who had influenced him to success more than all of these people and all the other events put together. He did not know the name of the man and the words only made one sentence, but they had such an impact on his thinking that he was never the same again.
One summer afternoon, at a lake where he often swam with his friends, he was swimming alone. For some unknown reason, he suffered some physical problem and could swim no farther. He struggled for his life and was about to go under for the last time when he felt a man’s strong arm lifting him from the water and taking him ashore. The boy never actually saw his rescuer’s face and he could not recognize the voice. After making sure everything was well, the man left. As he did, the boy said, “Thank you, sir, for saving my life.” The man replied, “You’re welcome, son. See to it that you are worth saving.”
In this age of emphasis upon the woman’s place in the society and in particular, Christianity, it would be well to notice that there are two extremes in position concerning a woman’s place in the minsitry of God. They are either work in the nursery or in the kitchen. In other words, women serve not as leaders but subservient. I know that in scriptural context, every gift [and talent] and principle that pertains to men pertains to women as well. Thank God! In democratic world, women can be anything they choose to be. Organized religion may differ with their rules and regulations. However, as women believers, we need to ask ourselves if we were worth saving. We don’t even have to be in leadership of the church to serve God and others. We can use our gifts wherever we are to edify, to build up our people. We lay aside our personal agenda and look at the big picture.
What are we contributing to impact our society? These are the questions that lead to treasures and know that good risk are worth taking. We will never know what life really has to offer until we manage to let go of what we believe it should offer. [/restrict]