Reading:
Genesis 2:19-25 (NRSV)
So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
“So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27
SHE
she is eve
unique
her own self
equal to adam
she is ruth
widowed young
free to leave
choosing to stay
she is deborah
leader of a nation
she is hannah
persistent in prayer
she is mary
honoring God with her worship
she is martha
honoring God with her service
she is
sarah
rahab
rachel
elizabeth
mary of nazareth
mary magdalene
she is a samaritan woman
who meets a
jewish man
by the village well
and is treated as equal
she is mother teresa
opening our eyes
to see jesus
in the poor
she is rosa parks
with the courage
not to go to the back of the bus
she is malala
wise beyond her years
she is harriet tubman
who never lost a passenger
traveling on the road to freedom
she is toni morrison
who with words
holds up a mirror
to our racism
she is
elizabeth platz
barbara andrews
earlean miller
who kept knocking
on the closed door
of the church
until it opened
she is
helen keller
sally ride
jane goodall
ruth bader ginsburg
michelle obama
greta thunberg
she earns 79 cents
for every dollar
earned by he
she has more than
a 75 percent chance
of experiencing
sexual harassment
or verbal abuse
in her lifetime
she did not get
the right to vote
until 1920
yet
she will teach us
to listen
to disagree without anger
to weep without shame
she is tough
but not mean
she would rather
talk than fight
she is
your grandmother
your mother
your sister
your wife
your pastor
your friend
she is eve
unique
her own self
equal to adam
Pastor Gary A. Westgard, retired
Yankton, SD
Prayer:
Loving God, you see us with the eyes of a mother, wanting only the best for us, wanting us to get along, entrusting us with this earth and with one another. Grant us the wisdom to see that we are brothers and sisters, each one different, yet each one created in your image. Amen.
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