National Women's History Month

8 March 2010

'Scuse me. Idon't think I've ever heard of National Women's History Month -- but it's all over the papers this year. A nationally syndicated columnist said she'd love to hear "our" stories -- so I sent her mine:

My first inclination was to write about the amazing women who were my foundation. First and foremost, my mother. Then, the teachers in the Lorain public schools who patrolled the aisles and stood in front of the class almost the entire day--in sensible shoes. And not least of all, every woman who was a friend of my mother, or lived in my neighborhood, or attended my church. They all had parental authority over me and wouldn't hesitate to exercise it, judiciously, if necessary. They were women of valor and integrity and their word was some sort of gospel that would never be questioned by my parents. All these women are part of my personal history--my sheroes--and they challenged my mind, encouraged my achievements and were instrumental in shaping my future.

But history is being made with every tick of the clock and we're all a part of it. In 1990, I wrote in Sisters: We are ever changing and standing fast/and moving forward and reaching back./ We are the Eighth Wonder, lost treasures and sweet memories...

If we're wise, we will take from our past, bring it into our present and send it forth into the future adding to it our measure of wisdom, skill, knowledge and love.

So I decided to pay homage to the women of today--the history makers of right now, who have survived and triumphed over insurmountable circumstances. Some of them I know, personally: Norma, a 2-time cancer survivor. It's nothing short of miraculous how both times it was, literally, the hand of God that directed her hand and that of her doctor to the cancer that the tests missed.

The x-rays showed the bones in Mary's arm had turned black due to the systemic infection and she was threatened with having her arm amputated. Sondra's arm was almost completely severed when a woman on a cell phone ran a red light, T-Boned Sondra's SUV and flipped it over. "I praise You [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14 (NIV). Sondra says: "The human body is amazing. Here I was conscious and sliding down the road with my arm caught beneath a truck that weighed nearly two tons-and I felt no pain." Both Mary and Sondra still have their arms.

And Teresa has an incredible testimony about forgiveness that can't help but make one feel foolish about the unforgiveness we harbor over petty things.

There was a picture of General David H. Petraeus, Commander of the United States Central Command, in the newspaper the other day. (I really don't think I've ever seen that many medals on one person in my life). I stared at the picture for a long time and then looked away wondering if I would know him out of uniform. The moment we see him in it, there is no doubt about his courage and achievements. That's not true of the Teresas, Normas, Sondras and Marys and the countless number of other women who have endured, cured, and reassured as a normal part of their daily lives. And they've done this while simultaneously fighting their own battle of the bulge, crashing through glass ceilings, escaping abusive relationships and giving unconditional love to a child whose autism often keeps them at arms length. Some of these women wear uniforms but most have no medals, braid or stars on their 80s fashions, Chanel suits or mom jeans. We don't know who they are by looking at them. We have to get to know them as part of our personal history--and then we can tell the world about them.

Excerpt from "When I Stepped Out on Faith...True Stories That Prove God's Word & Miracles Still Work Today" copyright 2009.