What a shock

I’m sitting across from two women. Beautiful, in fact stunning, smart, fearless, confident, full of life and so open to sharing their lives and successes with other people. And the last thing on my mind is that these two women are Christians.

I mean bible quoting, fasting and praying Christians. I am so emotional about my God kind of Christians.

In a conversation about authenticity, bravery, fire, the courage to take up jobs in Indonesia and Afghanistan, I definitely didn’t expect God. Not the universe kind of God, or the “new age God who doesn’t exist on the outside” nor the “I am” and whatever else” doctrines that exist but the holy spirit, Jesus, the man who sometimes is painted in our culture as one who expects subservience from women, submission at all costs and the permission and approval of a husband to change the world.

I have over belabored my point, I know.

Knowing you

Listening to these two women, I realize that a lot of women do themselves a great disservice by not getting to know God for themselves.

“A man’s perspective of God’s word is not the absolute interpretation of God’s word”  – Tucci Goka.

And how true this is …. If from the wells of great grace these two women, who I will say are far from perfect have managed to shatter glass ceilings and continue to do so in the bravest of ways, then do we not owe it to ourselves to get to know this ‘God’ who sends out his daughters into fire and says… “Go! I will go with you”.?

Or this man who says, “I will give you the ability to balance raising children, conquering nations, and being a wife?”

He made me – just the way I am – Charlotte Osei

He made you! Created and crafted every part of you in a particular way… some of us with way too much spice and salt and not enough sugar. Some of us he crafted in fire to ride on dragons and slay kings (pun intended). Some with sugar, icing, and some more sugar. Some of us with insides like butter…. open, always open to feel our way through life.. but for a purpose, because one thing we do know about God is that He is intentional.

Partitions please

If we will ever be the women we were created to be.. not what the church defines as womanhood or what the husbands association say, or the “we are married and you aren’t association of life coaches”, or even our well-meaning parents, family and friends, want us to be…..… then lines must be drawn.

Opinions must be filtered and we must make the journey from the outer court of ”who do people say I am?” to the inner court of “ I have a word from God for you” and into the holy of holy’s where you can hear from the master potter the ‘why’, the ‘ifs’, the ‘hows’ and the ‘why not’ of your life and your purpose.

At the very least, you owe this to yourself: to be who you are as you were created to be and to define yourself through the eyes of a man who literally loved you enough to die for you.

Thank you to Charlotte Osei and Tucci GokaIvowi for inspiring us to find our inner superstar!

The author, Animwaa Anim-Addo is the host of Strong and Sassy on Joy 99.7FM. She is also the co-host of the Super Morning Show on Joy FM.