Embrace Your Inner Ezer

It’s not always easy to embrace my identity. Or to fully understand it.  To believe that I am loved, known, and valued.  Telling teenagers that they are known, loved, and valued is something I have dedicated my life to doing.  And yet, sometimes I need to remind myself that it is also true for me.

I have to silence the voices of the lies that tell me I will never be enough. 

There are plenty of overt voices, but I think we also have to be aware of the subtle ways that we are making girls and women feel or believe that they are second-class citizens, just because they are female. 

The church has been a subtle voice that has made me personally feel less than. 

There are so many voices who have told me because I am female, I cannot possibly hear the voice of God in the same way as a man.  That I must always be under the authority of a man when teaching coed groups.  All these voices trying to tell me that I am not hearing God's clear calling on my life correctly.  

Thankfully, they were never the only voices that I heard.  There is an army of witnesses that have spoken truth over me, who have affirmed and encouraged me.  Unfortunately, the truth hasn’t always been the loudest voice in my head. 

Here's the reason for the soapbox moment: I recently learned that our English Bible translation might be part of the confusion about the value of women.  

In Genesis 2, God decides to make a “suitable helper” for Adam.  “The help” is the woman who is later named Eve.  This word has always been difficult for me because it seems demeaning… like I was made to help fulfill the man’s needs, or to do the things he is unwilling to do. 

Here’s the blow your mind truth that I just learned.  The word that is typically translated as help – really is a strong word.  The Hebrew word to describe the woman that God is going to create is ezer.  Ezer means “strength” or “rescue”.  Meaning God created Eve to be Adam’s strength.  God created women to be rescuers in times of other humans’ great needs.  

The word ezer is found 21 times in the Bible.  Twice we find ezer in Genesis, in reference to Eve.  Three times the nation Israel begs other nations for military Ezer – strength, rescue.  However, ezer is used sixteen times to describe God’s great power and strength; His faithfulness to rescue us in our distress. 

Psalm 33:20 - We put our hope in the Lord. He is our (ezer) help and our shield.

Psalm 70:5- But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God.  You are my (ezer) helper and my savior; O Lord, do not delay.

God could have called women anything he wanted.  But He chose a word that means strength.  I’m so sorry that’s been lost in translation.  But women, let this truth wash over you… You are strong.  You are of equal strength as men.  You were not created to be his helpmate, but to be his strength.  God used a word that describes him to describe you.  God didn’t call us a helper.  He called us strength.  



YOU ARE STRONG.  So today, hold your head high, and embrace your inner ezer.

I Stand With HER!

October 11th was International Day of the Girl and it stirred something in me.  I have a front row seat to watch the cycle of poverty, machismo, under-resourced public education (or lack of education), and broken governmental systems fail girls, teenagers, and women. I understand the pressing need for girls to be educated and empowered. 

I think of Sophia* whose mom is selling herself on the street, and whose dad is selling drugs on the same street.  Sophia moved out of their house fearing for her own safety, and thankfully found refuge with some loving neighbors.  However, Sophia dropped out of school because she feels she has to pay her own way in the world and she can't cause financial strain on the family who has taken her in.

I think of courageous Eva.  She's a teen mom due to sexual abuse.  When she shares her story, she recalls that her own mother sold her to men to support her own drug habit.  She continues to live in a highly volatile environment, but hopes for a different future for her daughter. 

I think of Lara who tells me that the only role for women that is valued in her neighborhood is becoming a mom.  So she doesn't understand why anyone would want to delay becoming a mom.  Mothers are valued and have someone in their lives who is always going to love them.  That's why she dropped out of school and purposefully became pregnant at a young age.

I think of Carolina who misses school on a regular basis to care for the brood of younger brothers who fill her house while her parents work to try to keep all the bellies full.  She's extremely responsible and works hard but is failing her classes. 

I think of Maria who after struggling and failing to pass the 7th grade, her parents pulled her from school.  They basically told her that she could not instead of looking for educational support. 

I also think of Maricel - an amazingly courageous women who walks the streets of an at-risk neighborhood to show teen moms that they are loved, valued, and have great potential. 

I think of Reina who chose to build a house in that same neighborhood so teen moms could see a healthy, loving family who wants to support them. 

I think of Guadalupe who herself is striving to break the cycle of poverty with her own education.  She's finishing up her first year of university.  While studying, she spends time to visit other teen girls in a highly impoverished neighborhood.  She wants the teenagers in that neighborhood to know they can succeed in school too, and help their families have a different future. 

Girls need to be in school, given opportunities to make a future for themselves.  I think we can all say, "Yes, I believe in girls all over the world receiving an adequate education."  We want to stand up against governments and social structures that are denying girls access to education.  But I also want to stand up for those women who are on the front lines everyday.  Maricel, Reina, and Guadalupe don't need a special day to remind them of the human rights of girls and women.  Nor do they need to be encouraged to fight for them.  These women are my heroes.  I stand with them in the fight for basic human rights for girls!

*Names of girls have been changed for their privacy and to protect them.

BeLOVED, Sweet Daughter

The last few weeks I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride.  I’ve learned some things I honestly wish I didn’t have to deal with…  I learned about some ugliness that I would like to simply erase from my mind and history.  But it happened and I’m still dealing with the consequences of other’s actions.  And I’m learning to take responsibility for what is mine, and not take responsibility for what’s not.

This situation has forced me to really examine once again my identity and who I want to me.  I don’t want to be a person who simply reacts to what happens to me.  I want to be a person who invites others to embracing who they really are. 

Hear this great truth from my friend Henri Nouwen –

“’You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests.’ That voice has always been there, but it seems that I was much more eager to listen to other louder voices saying, “Prove that you are worth something; do something relevant, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will earn the love you so desire. Meanwhile, the soft gentle voice that speaks in the silence and solitude of my heart renamed unheard or, at least, unconvincing.”

Let it be convincing.  Remember – no matter what happens around you, YOU ARE LOVED!  You are the beloved.  The Lord looks at you and is well pleased.  BE LOVED, my friend!  Celebrate the love and embrace it.