Women's Work

Run Your Race

Women's work is as broad as the world we influence.

The God who loves variety and placed it throughout creation in nature also placed variety in women. He made nurturing mothers, strong athletes, creative artists, and innovative entrepreneurs.

His creation boasts insightful women who are leaders in business, politics, and ministry. Women's work is advancing the technology of our world and shaping the next generation of children.

This variety gives women a vast world of endless opportunities.

However, so many choices of "could-do's" and so many voices of "should-do's" is enough to drive any woman insane.

One of the biggest mistakes we make is looking for the "template" - the woman God wants us to be.

The only template that truly exists for women's work is a woman abiding in a relationship with God. Everything else flows out of that relationship.

Over the last decade and a half, I have had the privilege of being a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, and a work-at-home mom.

Slowly, but surely, God has shown me that I need to rely on him for direction, and that the direction can change over time as he shapes me and places me into the worlds he wants me to influence.

God has not labeled you with a tag that throws you into a generic category.

To God you are the absolutely unique woman that he created, and he simply will lead you in and out of the places he wants you to go and roles that he wants you fill.

There is no quick formula to this. The key is to give every area of you life to God.

Imagine your life as a puzzle.

Christian women usually acknowledge that God should put their puzzle together, but we also have a habit of insisting that a few pieces go exactly where we want them:

"I can take a job as long as the hours are ..."

God knows your schedule, and believe me , if he's going to disrupt one area, he will fill in the gaps and the needs of your family.

For my family, sometimes this has been opposite shifts, a flexible schedule, or extended family suddenly being available to step in. Sometimes it has been the loss of a job exactly when it was needed.

Women's work is to follow God wherever he leads you, even if it seems odd to you. Read over some of those Old Testament stories again if you need a reminder that God usually doesn't work in the ways we expect.

"We have decided that I will stay at home as long as the children are at home."

That's a very long time to be certain about. While the above statement has good intentions, to plan your life for that long of a span with no room for God to step in and work is to simply hold on to your puzzle piece.

I know what it feels like to land in the place where God has planted you and then dig your roots so deep that he has to pull hard to rip the roots out when he wants you to move.

Careful planning and building is okay, but make sure the structure is flexible and that you are always willing to hear God's next direction.

In my family, we use the "Alaska Principle."

After years of making assumptions and then having God grab our hands and run in a different direction, we have learned to place a disclaimer at the end of all of our long-term plans and goals: "Of course, we could be living in Alaska next year."

It is our short way of reaffirming to each other that whatever our dreams and plans are, we will not hold to them so tightly that God cannot step in and change them.

It is also an acknowledgement that God's life is adventurous and we never know where he will take us.

How exciting it is to participate in women's work when it is the work that God has given you.

Women's work is found in whatever race God has marked out for you. Abide in him, fully surrendered, and it will be a lot easier to stay on the path.

How has women's work changed for you over time?

Have you been through different seasons of work and life that you can share? Have you had circumstances that made it all fit together? Maybe you have a story of how it didn't fit together. Share your story here.

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Perfectionism Resources

God, Use Me Just the Way I Am, DVD By Angela Thomas / Word Entertainment Inc

The Hurried Women Syndrome, DVD By Catherine Hart-Weber / Word Entertainment Inc

Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul By John & Stasi Eldredge / Thomas Nelson

Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently By Marcus Buckingham / Thomas Nelson

Let Go: Live Free of the Burdens All Women Know By Sheila Walsh / Thomas Nelson

Your Life in Rhythm: Achieving Freedom from Burnout, Busyness, and Guilt By Bruce Miller / Tyndale House

How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I'm Surrounded by Loose Cannons? Proverbs 31 Discoveries For Yielding To The Master of The Seas By Kathi Macias / New Hope Publishers

Perfecting Ourselves to Death: The Pursuit of Excellence and the Perils of Perfectionism By Richard Winter / Inter-varsity Press