The value of women

Have you ever had a brief moment where you saw or heard something in passing that disturbed you and you just kept thinking about it? I was watching tv the other day and an ad came on for a new movie coming out called the dictator. It is not a movie I would go to see anyway since It's not my kind of humour and i'm not a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen, but the ad got my attention. It was a lady giving birth and this 'dictator' was helping her, the baby was born and he said i'm sorry it's a girl where's the trash can, the American family were saying no that's what we wanted and i'm sure it was supposed to funny in some dark sort of way as it's a spoof kind of movie from what I can tell, but those few seconds on my tv screen made me want to cry!!!!

In Australia we take it for granted that women are equal citizens, who can access education, have careers, and are valued as human beings, but in so much of the world that is just not the case. "It's a girl where's the trash can" is the mentality that sees babies aborted or abandoned because they are girls, that sees honor killings, that sees genital mutilations, that sees women married off as young girls then left in desperation when their young bodies can't handle childbirth and they end up with fistulas. That throw away line in a movie ad summed up the lack of value that is placed on so many precious women on this Earth and it breaks my heart!!

At sisterhood yesterday at my church the lady speaking was one of the pastors who went over to Kiev for the recent colour women's conference. A gathering of that sort that values women is a very new thing in that region of the world and women having value is a message that they have not heard or grown up with. She spoke of meeting orphans who were abandoned because they were girls, of meeting rescued victims of human trafficking ( a trade that flourishes on the objectification and devaluing of women so that they can be the sexual property of men), and of how these lives have been transformed through Jesus, through the prayers of His followers opening doors in those regions, through the love and concern of His people reaching out and I was brought to tears again but this time because of people seeing the value of women. I am so grateful that I am part of a sisterhood of women that want to share that message of value, dignity and Christ's love, not just the sisterhood at my church, but a global sisterhood of Christian women bringing a revolution of peace, light and love, caring for orphans, widows, the oppressed and being a voice for those who would otherwise end up in that trash can.

I wanted to share some things out of the amazing prayer journal we were given as a gift at colour conference earlier this year. This is a snippet of what Bobbie Houston wrote in the front "this simple book and visual expression seeks to position our beloved global sisters before us.. it captures a tiny glimpse of their beauty, potential and value. Many of these precious women face cultural, social and political challenge and many are assailed by forces that need to incite concern and outrage. Like us they have hopes and dreams for their children and families"..... women just like us that need to know that God sees them and loves them, that they have value and beauty!! Throughout the journal as prayer needs for all the regions of the world are presented there are photos of women from all sorts of places and all walks of life and I wanted to share a few:

 

Aren't they all so different and yet all so beautiful!! We are our sisters keepers, so let's not be silent about the value of women, let's not laugh at what is actually a tragedy, let's instead embrace God's message of love and value to all people on the Earth and in the words of Bobbie Houston "believe that prayer will displace darkness, open the heavens and cause His love to prevail." Let's use what's in our hand to "make a difference, raise awareness, stand in the gap and find solution for those who have no voice or those who need a helping hand." Because every woman on this Earth is important to God!!!