"remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels." ~Faith Whittlesey

perhaps it was because i was born a woman, but i have always had quite a heart for my kind.

mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, family, friends. visionaries, creators, leaders, rehabilitator's, peacekeepers, and survivors. we are made up of so much love, passion, strength, and joy.

and yet we are so undefinable.

our roles are and have always been so much deeper then the restraints society have ever imposed upon us.

we are a beautiful reflection of our creator. so much more then a pretty face.

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my dear friend suzannah was my youth leader in high school. she led my small group, and she always listened to our hard questions, and never judged us for those questions. she is a beautiful woman, and one of her recent blogposts at her blog so much shouting, so much laughter, is a bit of prose titled, "the daughters of Jerusalem."

Daughters of Jerusalem.

at 22, i let myself be talked into wearing heels at our wedding because

that is what brides [re: women] do, don'tyouknow?

worn once and dirtied from sinking into rain-dampened earth,

in photos i tower over my groom and am reminded

of a time i didn't listen to my instincts

i heed them better at 30

i cannot define Womanhood and suspect prescriptive labels of

running a size-too-small to cover each one appropriately

(aren't we, after all, created to image a creative, infinite God?)

your daughters will prophesy and re-imagine,

blazing trails and remaining faithful to the Spirit poured-out still

and i quit trying to squeeze my twice-swelled body into juniors' jeans,

embracing the woman i've become over the girl who once was

(original post here)

thanks for this, Suz.