Sunday School

From the AP/Washington Post

So I've been gone for a while. Well not really gone, because I have been here.
Just not here on the computer.
Anyway....

Today we had a lesson that I needed and I am going to share it with you.
Because if I needed it, chances are someone else needs it to.
And yes, it was a lesson geared to young women.
But what is a forty something year old woman if not a young woman in an older woman's body and brain?

Lesson 39: Recognizing our Individual Worth

Yes, I know I have worth.
Yes, I know you have worth.
But, sometimes the world can be a bit harsh and it's good to have a reminder.

And the lesson might not have meant so much if I had not read an article yesterday about young women in India whose parents had given them a name that meant 'unwanted' having a huge renaming ceremony and choosing what their new names would be.

And the lesson might not have meant so much had I not read this, ""Why don't more of us reach our true potential? When we are young and innocent, anything and everything seems possible. We dream of being great athletes, or great singers, or a successful businessperson, or raising great children with patience and kindness. Do dreams become a reality, or are they just thoughts and images that exist only in the movies?"
(Craig Manning, The Fearless Mind, CFI, 2009, p24)

It was the 'raising great children' phrase that caught me. I'm in that dream. I've had to work at it, but I think I am there. So if I am there, what else can I do?

Our cute teacher started the lesson off by taping a bunch of descriptive words like musical, thoughtful, fun serious, intelligent, happy, athletic, etc, etc.  on the board. She picked one, put it on her shirt like a badge and told us she was going to 'own' that trait of hers and that she wasn't going to apologize for 'owning' that trait because God gave it to her. She went on to say that it's ok to 'own' who you are. To not feel like you are being prideful or arrogant or to be embarrassed or ashamed. (You know, now that I think of it-I am not sure if that is really what she said, but that is the message that I heard and something clicked in me.)

Then she had each young woman pick a badge off the board and wear it (including me).
I loved watching what my girls picked.
I loved the little insight I got into who they think they are.
I picked a badge that I have not previously claimed.
I am claiming it.
And I look forward to see what they and I will do.

Post Edit (10-26-2011)
Intelligent.
(see the comments below)