Made In God's Image, as a Female Part 5: Interdependent Ezers

This will be my last entry regarding how women uniquely bear the image of their Creator. That is, until God reveals more to me, which I think He will:)

Let's recall the creation of the first man and the first woman together. Genesis 1 reveals to us how God, being a Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit, said: Let us make man in our image...and let them rule...over all the earth. So God created man in his own image...male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. When we read on to Genesis 2, we learn a more detailed account of creation: There was no man to work the earth God made until He formed Adam out of the dust of the ground. He put Adam in the garden to care for it. Then God said that it is not good for the man to be alone, and He would make an "Ezer" for the man. So He formed all sorts of animals out of the ground and brought them to the man. Adam named them, but none of them met his needs. None of the animals was the Ezer for Adam. So God caused Adam to sleep, and removed one of his ribs while he slept. That rib God fashioned into a woman, and brought her to the man. Adam finally had what he so desired and called Eve bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.

In your Bible, the Hebrew word "Ezer" is probably translated as "helper". And I think that translation is fine, as long as we understand just what it means to be a "helper". As women, God made us to be helpers, yes. But what do you think of when you picture your design as a helper? What kind of help are we speaking of?

Did you know that a woman is a helper the same way God is our helper? It is true. Here is another aspect in which God and women share characteristics. Here is another way we bear the image of God. Just as He is an "Ezer", we are an "Ezer". "The word ezer is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God Himself, when you need him to come through for you desperately." (Captivating) Here are some scriptures in which God is said to be our help, or our ezer:

"He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword." (Deut. 33:29b)

"I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Ps. 121:1-2)

"We wait in hope for the Lord, He is our help and our shield." (Ps. 33:20)

The following revelations are from the book Ruby Slippers:

An Ezer delivers: "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." (Exodus 18:4)

An Ezer is a warrior: "Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, And bring him to his people; Let his hands be sufficient for him, And may you be a help against his enemies." (Deut. 33:7)

An Ezer supports: "May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion." (Psalm 20:2)

Ezer delivers the afflicted and needy: "But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer, O Lord, do not delay." (Psalm 40:5)

Ezer gives hope: "How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God." (Psalm 146:5)

"Woman is Man's Ezer- she is a delivering, warring, supporting, shielding, capable, and vibrant female image bearer of God. What about putting those words in our Bible's margin to refresh our understanding of helper?" (Ruby Slippers)

Now I hope all my readers have a better understanding of a woman's "helper" design. It is a powerful, vital part of her soul. Eve was right there with Adam when God told them to "rule" the earth and "subdue" it. Both man and woman are made for dominion.



"Have you ever wondered why the Cinderella story keeps haunting us?...Why is this notion of a hidden princess (and a prince who comes to find her) so enduring? Is there something in our hearts that is trying to speak to us? Is it just a fantasy, escapism? Or is it something more?...We are reminded of Pascal's metaphor, that our unmet longings and unrequited desires are in fact 'the miseries of a dethroned monarch.' Mankind is like a king or queen in exile, and we cannot be happy until we have recovered our true state. What would you expect the Queen of a kingdom and the beauty of a realm to feel when she wakes to find herself a lundress in a foreign land? A woman's struggle with her sense of worth points to something glorious she was designed to be. The great emptiness we feel points to the great place we were created for. It's true. All those legends and fairy tales of the undiscovered princess and the beauty hidden as a maid are more accurate than we thought. There's a reason girls resonate with them so." (Captivating)

We were created as Ezers, and an Ezer is vital. She is needed.

And we not only are needed, but we like the fact that we are needed. We want to be needed. Somewhere deep down, we know that we were created to fill a need. And thus, most women are very relational, or what can be termed "interdependent" (term taken from Ruby Slippers).

"Because I am interdependent...I desire to be needed by others. Relationships provide the means for me to understand my past, my goals, my character, my work, and my methods, and I emotionally want that." (Ruby Slippers)



Think about the beginning of creation again. Eve was created because it was not good for the man to be alone. She was not only created for another, but she was created from another. All else was created out of the dust of the ground, but not Eve. She was created from another human, the man. This alone reveals something amazing.

"Her first experience and environment was with another. She glided from life with God (he made her while man was asleep, bringing her to him) into a comradeship with Adam. She experienced human interaction soon after her creation. She exists and immediately is known. The first words Eve hears is the language of another loving her back. She awakens to be needed and loved. She lives and is quickly united to another. There are no long hours of naming and waiting and feeling alone." (Ruby Slippers)

Is it no wonder that women are such relational humans then?

"Man's love is of man's life a thing apart; 'Tis a woman's whole existence." (Byron)

"The interdependence that colors our souls is when our identity emerges from within our intimacy, when we see ourselves as 'me in a relationship' rather than 'me as autonomous'." (Ruby Slippers)

So women tend to be interdependent, relational to their core humans. Looking at the creation of Eve, we can understand why. But is there more to this? Do we reveal something of the character of God through our interdependence? Is this another way we are made in His image?

Remember the Trinity.

God has always been three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They always had each other. Neither was ever one alone. And their identity was always connected with the others in the Godhead.

"Eve is like God in that she knew life in relationship and love; she was never a lone human. Like God, Eve experienced identity with another who was equal to her." (Ruby Slippers)

"As echoes of the Trinity, we are relational to the core..." (Captivating)

"Christianity dignifies interdependence. It is the only religion that offers interdependence in the very nature of God...His identity is forged from his intimacy more than the most interdependent...woman....When women depend on each other, we are smaller pictures of the Trinity...If we ever wonder if our interdependence is essentially weakness, we need only look to God...We are like God when we engage in identity making relationships." (Ruby Slippers)

How else does a woman's relational nature speak to us something of God? What does it reveal?

"Most women define themselves in terms of their relationships, and the quality they deem those relationships have. This is not a weakness in women- it is a glory. A glory that reflects the heart of God. The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God's vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships." (Captivating)

"We are just small souls compared to God and can only handle a small portion of His soul characteristics. God is 'bigger', so He can handle more good, more love, more intimacy, more choices, more emotions." (Ruby Slippers)

"So God endows woman with certain qualities that are essential to relationship, qualities that speak of God. She is inviting. She is vulnerable. She is tender. She embodies mercy. She is also fierce and fiercely devoted...Our God is a tenderhearted God who yearns for relationship with us. If you have any doubt about that, simply look at the message he sent us in woman." (Captivating)

A woman reveals something of God's nature on earth through her relational gifts. She reveals that God desires relationships with us. God is relational to His core. She also reveals that God has an amazing capacity for relationships, one we cannot fully understand. But through woman, we can get a better picture of it. A woman's soul is often able to enjoy vast relationships- she desires them and has the capacity for vast intimacy. Now, if her soul is just a small picture of God's soul...then, wow. His soul can handle so much more love and intimacy than hers. His desire for relationships is much greater than hers. His capacity for intimacy is much deeper than hers. We cannot even fathom his soul's capacities! But Woman gives us an idea of how God's soul can be with all of us, always, and how He loves us all intimately, not just as "the world".

Here is a wonderful sentence to sum up an Ezer: "We were made to be a part of a great adventure. An adventure that is shared. We do not want the adventure merely for adventure's sake but for what it requires of us for others. We don't want to be alone in it; we want to be in it with others." (Captivating)

Made In God's Image, as a Female Part 4: Vulnerability

In previous blogs, I shared with my readers insights that I have myself learned, regarding how a woman is made in the image of God, uniquely as a female. This entry will be about another aspect women and God share: their vulnerability.

Could a woman's vulnerability reveal God's vulnerability to us? Hmmm....let's look at a few scriptures:

~"Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. " (1 Peter 3:7)

A woman is the weaker vessel? What does the word weaker mean? Is that the best word to translate this passage?

The word "weaker" is the Greek word "asthenes"....and that same word is used to describe God Himself!

~"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1:25)

The weakness of God?? Yup, it is the same word used to describe a woman's "weakness": asthenes. A woman has "weakness" just as does the God who made her. But is God weak? What does the word "weak" really mean?

We see it used here again:

~"For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God." (2 Corinthians 13:4)

~"And he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

"Theologian Dr. Sarah Sumner notes that 'weakness' or asthenes must mean something other than 'inherent inferiority' since God cannot be inferior. She has translated the Greek word asthenes into a more helpful word: 'vulnerability, or a willingness to be responsive'. See how well it works: The vulnerability of God is stronger than men. Jesus was crucified because of vulnerability. Live with your wives...as the more vulnerable vessel...This word connects God with women." (Ruby Slippers by Jonalyn Grace Fincher p. 110)

It is pretty obvious that a woman is physically more vulnerable. She is not as strong as a man. In her book, Jonalyn Fincher raises the question of whether or not the first woman, Eve, was just as strong as Adam before the Fall. Well, this is just my opinion- but I don't think Eve was. I don't think a woman's physical vulnerability is a negative aspect of the Fall. I am of the opnion that God specifically made Eve weaker so that Adam could protect her and sacrifice for her, thereby showing us how God is stronger than us and takes care of and protects us:) I enjoy being physically weaker. I love to see masculine strength in action. I like when men open a door for me, or offer to carry something heavy, etc. It is not that I cannot open my own door, but it is a way to honor me as the "weaker vessel"....a way to show a woman that you intend to be caring and respectful, and not take advantage of her physical vulnerability.

But our physical vulnerability is not how we bear God's image. First off, God does not have a body. Secondly, if He did, He would not by vulnerable in it. Our body symbolizes how our souls are vulnerable though. "German religious philosopher Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz did research on the anthropology of the sexes, and found that 'our body is the bearer and expression of something interior....the observation of the body serves as a principle of the female soul and mind." (Ruby Slippers)

So a woman's body is an outward representation of her soul. And it is in her soul where she bears God's image. Two poems just came to my mind, and here are a few words from each:

Angel: And she is much softer. Her body, her hair... God: Aaahhh, the softness is part of the fascination. Angel: Her body dents in and out! God: I call these curves. They are part of the softness. Angel: Can she feel? God: Oh yes! She feels deeply: joy, love, sorrow.
A different poem:

The angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft Lord." "She is soft", the Lord agreed, "But I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model..." "That's not a leak," the Lord corrected, "That's a tear!" "What's the tear for?" the angel asked. The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her lonliness, her grief and her pride."

These beautiful poems reveal how a woman's outer softness symbolizes her inner softness- her vulnerability.

"God made a woman's body, not out of a clay mold, but out of a piece of living flesh. Woman's original material was more vulnerable than man's; she was made out of living cells. Vulnerability requires that we have places that are tender, places we can be affected, touched..." (Ruby Slippers, p. 112)

"Dr. Jerry Root, a...friend...shared how he saw his wife's tears as an emotional act of vulnerability, no less sexy than her breasts and no less alluring than her invitation to bed." (Ruby Slippers, p. 115)

"The root of 'vulnerable' means 'to wound'...God "made the woman with an open wound in her body"...sex...turns the most vulnerable parts of us into the tools for recreation, delight, pleasure, beginnings. It is a picture of what we want to do with our souls...the way a woman opens herself to a man, proving that her physical vulnerability is also strength...When a woman is vulnerable, she glorifies God in sharing her weaknesses. She marries honesty and transparency in her soul, and in doing so, images God. Vulnerable women are Godlike." (Ruby Slippers)

"Softness is key to a woman. Not weakness-softenss. Tenderness." (Captivating)

"A woman who is full of tender mercy and soft vulnerability is a powerful, lovely woman." (Captivating)

So in our vulnerability we image God. That is powerful. Those tender places, the tears, the openess all were given to us by our Maker as a way to show the world what He is like.

"Offering a tender vulnerability can only be done by an incredibly strong woman, a woman rooted in Christ Jesus who knows whose she is and therefore knows who she is." (Captivating)

Lastly, I want to comment on this scripture: 1 Cor. 12:22-23a

²² No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. ²³ And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor..."

Again, the word weaker in the above scripture is the same word we discussed earlier.

A woman's vulnerability is necessary. God put femininity in this world because it was needed. The world needs a woman's vulnerability. Husbands are told to "dwell with their wives with understanding, giving honor to them as the weaker vessels". God wants men to understand their wives' vulnerability, and not treat them harshly or belittle them for their sensitive souls, but rather honor them as a more vulnerable vessel should be honored, treated tenderly and cared for gently.

"When we feel criticized or hurt, it doesn't help to hear people say, 'Stop being so sensitive.' You might as well tell me to turn off my soul, to deaden part of my natural femininity...To tell a woman to toughen up...is like clipping the wings of a bird. You never get to see the full plummage in her wingspan or watch her soar and plummet in freedom. A woman's sensitivity can be a mark of vulnerable strength." (Ruby Slippers)

God is vulnerable and has therefore put this trait in Woman. She reveals God's softness to the world and that should be honored.

Made In God's Image, as a Female Part 3: A Life Giver

In my two previous blog entries regarding how women bear the image of God on earth, I spoke of their beauty, mystery and desire to be pursued. In this post I will share a few other insights that I have been given, mainly through the books Captivating and Ruby Slippers (see in the side bar). Let's look at the first woman ever created- Eve- to better understand our feminine design and purpose on earth.

Women as Life-Givers

The first woman was named Eve, which means "life-giver". What do you think of when you consider a woman giving life? Probably the first thought that comes to your mind is giving birth. Indeed, women have been blessed with such beautiful and powerful abilities to foster life. A woman conceives and nurtures the life within her own body. She is then the one to actually birth a new soul into this world. Think of the word woman- womb man. She has something no man does: a womb. Not only that but she also has breasts with which to continue to nurture the life she has birthed, both through nourishing the body of the babe and comforting the infant's soul.

It is amazing that God describes Himself to be like a mother:

"You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth." (Deut. 32:18)

"He will say, 'I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant." (Isa. 42:14)

"For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance...as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you..." (Isa. 66:11-13)

"Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!" (Isa. 49:15)

"But we proved gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children." (1 Thess. 2:7)

Through the book, Ruby Slippers, I learned that the first time God promised to make Abram fruitful, he identified Himself as El Shaddai. Also, Isaac blessed Jacob with El Shaddai's blessing to make him fruitful. If you look at the word "Shaddai", the root of it- "shad"- means "female breast" or "the breasted one".

Looking at all the above scriptures, we can see how God compares Himself to a woman laboring, birthing and nursing a babe. Through that comparison, we learn how God cares for us spiritually, but also how a woman bears God's image- and not just in the physical aspects of birthing and nursing, since God does not have a body. No, a woman's soul is made to offer life, that is why Eve means "life-giver".

"We are life-givers by design. God Himself fashioned us to be life-givers. It is a great urge within each one of us to nourish and nurture life around us...Radical feminist Gloria Steinem called the impulse in women...to nurture and care for- a "compassion disease"...As life-giving women, we are uniquely designed to to enrich the lives of those around us. We can bring warmth, love, nurture, and grace...Women committed to developing and expressing the life-giving aspect of their natures- who embrace the value of their drive to nurture and nourish life around them- are compassionate, caring, thoughtful and creative." (Lifegiving: Discovering Secrets to a Beautiful Life)

A woman is a life-giver to her core, not just in her ability to nurture, birth and nourish humans. Women who do not have children still have the life-giving trait of God stamped upon their souls. There are many ways in which women nurture others around them...many ways in which women promote life in others. Jonalyn Fincher, in her book Ruby Slippers, termed this life-giving characteristic of many women "cultivation". She shares that women cultivate in various ways- caring for, feeding, warming, comforting people, beautifying a space. A woman may reveal her cultivating, life-giving, nature through hospitality. But the point is to build other people up. She quoted Edith Stein: "The woman's soul is...fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold." We tend to people. Actually, that root "tend" shows up in other aspects of femininity, such as attention and tenderness. In Ephesians 6, husbands are admonished to cherish their wives. The word "cherish" means to foster with tender care, to treat with tenderness, to treat in a manner to encourage growth-by protection and attendance. Women are generally naturally inclined to give tenderness and attention to others, and that is precisely what they desire to be given back.

Here is one last thought to meditate on: Adam was formed out of the dust of the ground, and then put in the garden. But Eve was fashioned in the garden. She awoke in a place full of beauty and life.

In my next entries, I will continue showing how women uniquely bear the image of God through their vulnerability, interdependence, and "ezer" purpose on earth.

Made in God's Image, as a Female: Mystery and Romance

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Yesterday I wrote my first post regarding exactly how women bear the image of God in their female design. I spoke of how the beauty of woman reveals God's beauty to us, and the truth that God wants us to delight in that beauty, to enjoy His beauty, and desire Him; all the same things a woman longs for. Read my first post here

In my first post I shared the following quote which is from a letter my husband wrote to me:

"Some may say there's not much in a name, but I say there is much in the name of the one I love. She, Esther Ruth, is a "star" in my life. Out of her shines what I call true beauty; a beauty that this fallen world knows not much of. Just like the distant stars of the sky, there is a mystery about her. This mystery beckons me to stare long and hard at who she really is. Where does she come from? What's going on in the midst of her?"

I stated how perfectly those words illustrate the first three qualities I would speak of: beauty, mystery and romance (or being pursued). Today I will write about the later two of the three. Most of my quotes are taken from John and Stasi Eldredge's book entitled "Captivating".

2) After her beauty, it is in her mystery that a woman bears the image of God.

"The kind of beauty a confident woman possesses is an odd mix of mystery and warm allure that invites you always a little deeper into the essence of really knowing her." (Paula Rinehart)

"Writing a book for men (Wild at Heart) was a fairly straight-forward proposition. Not that men are simpletons. But they are the less complicated of the two genders...both men and women know this to be true. The mystery of the feminine heart was meant to be a good thing, by the way. A source of joy. Yet it has become a source of shame- women almost universally feel that they are 'too much'...and men tend to pull away from the deeper waters of a woman's soul, unsure of what they will find there or how to handle it. And so we have missed the treasure that is the heart of a woman, missed the richness femininity was meant to bring to our lives, missed the way it speaks to us of the heart of God."

"One of the deepest ways a woman bears the image of God is in her mystery. By 'mystery' we don't mean 'forever beyond your knowing,' but 'something to be explored.' Prov 25:2 "God yearns to be known. But he wants to be sought after by those who would know him. He says, 'You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.' (Jer. 29:13)"

"Is not the Trinity a great mystery? Not something to be solved, but known with ever-deepening pleasure and awe, something to be enjoyed. Just like God, a woman is not a problem to be solved, but a vast wonder to be enjoyed. This is so true of her sexuality. Few women can or even want to 'just do it.' Foreplay is crucial to her heart, the whispering and loving and exploring of one another that culminates in intercourse. That is a picture of what it means to love her soul. She yearns to be known and that takes time and intimacy...As she is sought after, she reveals more of her beauty. As she unveils her beauty, she draws us to know her more deeply. Whatever else it means to be feminine, it is depth and mystery and complexity, with beauty as its very essence."

Looking at those quotes, we can see that the kind of beauty that a confident woman possesses is a mix of mystery and warm allure. It is a mystery that, as my husband wrote, "beckons" one "to stare long and hard". Women are complex; God made them very detailed. The trinity is likewise mysterious. But that is a good thing, and when one begins to explore the mysteries, depth and richness is discovered. That brings us to a third way in which woman bears God's image.

3) Women want to be romanced, or in other words, pursued.

As Paula said in the quote above, a woman's beauty and mystery "invites you always a little deeper into the essence of really knowing her." My husband was "beckoned" to stare- for a loooooong time!

God is beautiful and mysterious. He desires that His beauty and mystery would allure us to seek Him. He promised that if we seek Him with all our heart, we would know Him. God wants to be our priority. He wants us to pursue Him, spend time with Him, talk to Him, listen to Him. He desires our attention. He longs for our love. So He put those same desires in woman, to reveal Himself to us.

A woman is beautiful and mysterious. She wants to be sought after with the whole heart of her pursuer, just as God does. She wants intimacy. She yearns to be known. She wants her husband to talk to her, listen to her, spend time with her, enjoy her. She longs for his attention and love. This is one way she bears God's image, as a female.

This is precisely why, in 1 Peter 3:7, husbands are told to live with their wives "in an understanding way" or "according to knowledge". God knows the desires of a woman because He put them there, to reveal His own desires to us. Yes, women are complex, and some men may think they will never understand a woman. But God has commanded them to at least understand their woman. A husband is commanded to know his wife. This is what every wife longs for.

Yet there is no way to grow in understanding and knowledge of a woman unless you spend time with her. Just as God does, she longs to be sought after and pursued. That is what it means to be romanced. It takes time and intimacy.

"Why do our days seem so unimportant, filled not with romance and adventure but with duties and demands? We feel unseen, even by those who are closest to us. We feel unsought- that no one has the passion or the courage to pursue us." (Stasi Eldredge)

"Most of our addictions as women flare up when we feel that we are not loved or sought after...every woman wants to be seen, wanted, and pursued...We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing." (Stasi Eldredge)

"Cut off from love, rejected, no one pursuing her, something in a woman wilts like a flower no one wants anymore. She withers into resignation, duty...the radiance of her countenance goes out...but this same woman...becomes lovely and inviting when she is pursued. Her heart begins to come alive...what happened...was merely the power of romance releasing her true beauty, awakening her heart. She has come alive. As women we long to be loved in a certain way, a way unique to our femininity. We long for romance. We are wired for it; that's what makes our heart come alive." (Stasi Eldredge)

"We don't have to be embarrassed by our desire to be romanced. It is a true, glorious longing in our hearts! It is, in fact, where we bear the image of God. God loves romance." (Stasi Eldredge)

Women do often feel unseen. Unsought. I know I do. And it is truly one of the most difficult things to deal with, when we feel like no one has the passion to pursue us. I am good enough to work and serve...and I want to do that, but I also want to be desired. Enjoyed. Pursued.

It is so true that our addictions flare up when we are not pursued. Some of us might eat to fill the loneliness. Maybe we lose ourselves in movies, or novels, or soap operas- where we can temporarily feel like we are being pursued. Maybe we busy ourselves with all sorts of service, work, and activities so that we can try and forget our desires. There are so many addictions- shopping, gossiping, exercising- the list can go on.

If we are not pursued, in our human nature, we will fill that void with our addictions while, at the same time, withering into resignation and duty. Something in us dies. It is our heart. Our feminine heart that longs to be romanced, to be noticed, to be wanted.

But when we are romanced, boy do we come alive in all our feminine glory!

Husbands are commanded to love us the way we need to be loved- to pursue us (that is how they get to know us and understand the depths of us). But husbands are humans who sin and fail.

"You are made for romance, and the only one who can offer it to you consistently and deeply is Jesus."

In that quote, Stasi is not saying that Jesus is the only one who can offer us romance. No, God does want our husbands to meet those needs. BUT the only one who can offer us romance CONSISTENTLY and DEEPLY is Jesus.

"We have all heard it said that a woman is most beautiful when she is in love. It's true. When a woman knows that she is loved, she glows from the inside. This radiance stems from a heart that has had its deepest questions answered. "Am I lovely? Am I worth fighting for? Have I been and will I continue to be romanced?" When these questions are answered, yes, a restful, quiet spirit settles in a woman's heart."

"You have been and you will continue to be romanced all your life...every memory you cherish, every moment that has moved you to holy tears, all have been given to you from the One who has been pursuing you from your first breath in order to win your heart. God's version of flowers and chocolates and candlelight dinners comes in the form of sunsets and falling stars, moonlight on the lakes and cricket symphonies; warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens and fierce devotion...He knows what takes your breath away, knows what makes your heart beat faster."

"We have missed many of his love notes simply because we shut down our hearts in order to endure the pain of life. Now, we must open our hearts again...so that we can hear his whispers, receive his kisses...If we listen, a Sacred Romance calls to us through our heart...it whispers to us in the wind...reaches out to us through the touch of someone we love...we've sensed it at the birth of our first child, been drawn to it while watching the shimmer of a sunset on the ocean...Something calls to us through experiences like these and rouses an inconsolable longing, deep within our heart, wakening in us a yearning for intimacy, beauty and adventure."

"God has been wooing you ever since you were a little girl...What romanced your heart as a girl? Horses in a field? The fragrance of the air after a summer rain? Was it a favorite book like the Secret Garden? The first snowfall in winter?...These were all whispers from your Lover, notes sent to awaken your heart's longings."

"God has written the romance not only on our hearts but all over the world around us. What we need is for him to open our eyes, to open our ears that we might recognize his voice calling to us, see his hand wooing us in the beauty that quickens our heart."

"The whole world was made for romance- the rivers and glens, the meadows and beaches. Flowers, music, a kiss. But we have a way of forgetting all that, losing ourselves in work and worry. Eve-God's message to the world in feminine form-invites us to romance. Through her, God makes romance a priority of the universe."

"Life changes dramatically when romance comes into our lives. Christianity changes dramatically when we discover that it, too, is a great romance. That God yearns to share a life of beauty, intimacy and adventure with us..."

"We were created to be the object of desire and affection of one who is totally and completely in love with us...What would it be like to experience for yourself that the truest thing about his heart toward yours is not disappointment or disapproval but deep, fiery, passionate love? That is, after all, what a woman was made for."

Beauty and mystery invite us to go deeper. If you hear beautiful music, you want to sit down and listen again and drink it in. It captures your attention. A garden calls one to enter in, explore, and feast upon the beauty. A great book draws us in, we can't wait to get back to it, spend time with it. These are all of the responses that God wants of us. All of the responses a woman wants too.

God is beautiful, mysterious, and longs to be sought after. That is why He put these qualities in females...that is how we bear the image of the One who made us. When we look at all that He created, we know God loves romance. He invented it. And because He loves romance, so does woman. It is another way we reveal God to the world.

The above are where and how females bear God's image, but there are more ways. I will discuss these in my last post on this topic.

Made in God's Image, as a Female: Beauty

The Bible tells us that humans were made in the image of God Himself. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

Male and Female. Both were made in God's image, but not in the same way. One was made a male and the other a female. We were not made in the image of God physically, since God is a spirit. So we can conclude we were made in His image inside of us. There are many characteristics of God that both man and woman share, but there are some that are distinctively given to each particular gender to show forth an aspect of God's image through that gender.

So, as a woman, how do you reveal God's nature to the world? If you are a man reading this, how does your wife, daughter, sister, girlfriend, etc. display the image of her Maker to those around her? I learned so much through reading "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. I will be quoting from them much in this post. As they wrote in their book, "What did God mean when He created woman in His image? God wanted to reveal something about Himself, so he gave us Eve. What can we learn from her?"

I will begin with the words written by my husband many years ago in a letter to me, because, as you will see, they so perfectly illustrate the first three ways women bear the image of God in their femininity.

"Some may say there's not much in a name, but I say there is much in the name of the one I love. She, Esther Ruth, is a "star" in my life. Out of her shines what I call true beauty; a beauty that this fallen world knows not much of. Just like the distant stars of the sky, there is a mystery about her. This mystery beckons me to stare long and hard at who she really is. Where does she come from? What's going on in the midst of her?"

My husband mentioned how he found in me beauty and mystery and how those characteristics "beckoned" him to stare long and hard! So these will be the first three characteristics I shall speak of.

1) More than anything else in creation, a woman reveals God's beauty to the world. She was God's most detailed creation, and her body alone is God's most beautiful work of art. John mentioned in his book how he and his wife realized that most of the paintings they saw in museums showing the naked form were ones of women. They did not see a single painting of a nude man, though some do exist. God made a man strong, and a woman beautiful. Her form, her face, her eyes...they all reveal the beauty of God.

Women are born wanting to be beautiful. Little girls like to dress up as princesses and brides and the like, to brush each others hair, and dance around the house. They want to capture attention, especially that of their daddies. They are asking, either aloud or just inside, "Do you think I'm beautiful?" Why? Because it is part of who they are to ask such a question; instinctively, they know that one of their purposes in life is to reveal the beauty of God.

The Eldredges told a story of a little girl who went from office to office, singing for everyone, fully expecting to be delighted in: "A little girl in her glory, unashamed in her desire to delight, and be delighted in." They shared another story of a six year old girl who told her mother about the most wonderful dream she had ever had. She was a queen, in a beautiful dress and with a crown upon her head. Her mother asked her why it was such a wonderful dream and the daughter answered, "I just love feeling that way!" When asked what way, she spoke one word as her answer: "Beauty."

Of course, outward beauty does not hold substance. Women can show the beauty of God most through their inner loveliness. In 1 Peter, God exhorts women to not be merely beautiful on the outside, but that they should cultivate inner beauty, which is very precious to Him. Women want to have this inner beauty, the kind that a good man is drawn to and that their girlfriends appreciate.

"Every woman wants to have a beauty to unveil. Not to conjure, but to unveil. Most women feel the pressure to be beautiful from very young, but that is not what I speak of. There is also a deep desire to simply and truly be the beauty and be delighted in." (John Eldredge)

"What a man is usually drawn to in a woman is two steps past her physical appearance. While he may lack the words to express this, intuitively he knows he has stumbled on someone who can glimpse his heart, who seems to know him in ways he has always longed to be known. A man has a hunger that can only be touched by the innate kind of beauty you possess." (Paula Rinehart in her book Sex and the Soul of a Woman).

I know that one of my greatest desires is to be delighted in, to be enjoyed and desired. From God and from my husband, and all others whom I touch. It is inner beauty that is delighted in. What does this inner beauty look like? A "gentle" and "quiet" spirit, according to God's word. That simply means a spirit at rest, quieted by God's love and walking in a peaceful way. Not striving. "The only thing getting in the way of our being fully captivating and enjoyed is our striving." (Eldredge)

"A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest, trusting God because she has come to know Him to be worthy of her trust. She exudes a sense of calm, a sense of rest...she speaks comfort...she assures others all is well and all will be well...she offers others grace to be and the room to become...like a release...we can breathe...A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough. She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful."

"Every once in a while, a woman walks into a room and you know that she knows that God calls her beautiful. There is peace and strength and energy that come from belonging to Him. There is confidence that is captivating." (Angela Hunt in her book "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?")

What is so important about beauty? Do we need it? Does the world need beauty? Yes, for beauty speaks to us that all is well, it comforts and inspires us, and it nourishes us: "It is the kind of food our souls crave. A woman's breast is among the loveliest of all God's works, and it is with her breast that she nourishes a baby- a stunning picture of the way in which beauty itself nourishes us."

"Beauty is transcendent- it is our most immediate experience of the eternal...sometimes the beauty is so deep it pierces us with longing...for life as it was meant to be. Beauty reminds us of an Eden we have never known, but somehow know our hearts were created for. Beauty speaks of heaven to come, when all shall be beautiful. It haunts us with eternity. Beauty says, there is a glory calling to you. And if there is a glory, there is a source of glory. What great goodness could have possibly created this? What generosity gave us this to behold? Beauty draws us to God."

"Beauty is the essence of a woman. We want to be perfectly clear that we mean both physical beauty and a soulful/spiritual beauty...the world cheapens and prostitutes beauty, making it all about a perfect figure few women can attain, but christians minimize it too, or overspiritualize it, making it all about "character"...God gave Eve a beautiful form and a beautiful spirit. She expresses beauty in both."

"I sit outside on a summer evening and just listen and behold and drink it all in, and my heart begins to quiet and peace begins to come into my soul...This is what it's like to be with a woman at rest, a woman comfortable in her feminine beauty. She is enjoyable to be with. She is lovely...You relax and believe once again that all will be well."

I recently found an amazing poem which partly read as such: "The face is like that of an angel...The skin of the creation is like dove's silk. The scent of the hair is sweeter than rose petals. The touch is gentle and comforting. This creation is woman... Her warm embrace is like a soft blanket. Her smile fills my heart with joy...Her beauty is inside and out; yes, this is true, but I speak not of her beauty alone. For her beauty proclaims God's glory...even if she said not a word, who she is would show God's glory and beauty."

C.S. Lewis once wrote: "The beauty of the female is the root of joy to the female as well as to the male...to desire the enjoying of her own beauty is the obedience of Eve, and to both it is in the lover that the beloved tastes her own delightfulness." Yes, that is a deep quote. Read it again. There is an important truth in it.

"The reason a woman wants a beauty to unveil, the reason she asks, Do you delight in me? is simply because God does as well. God is captivating beauty."

To desire the enjoying of her own beauty is the obedience of Eve. Wow, that is powerful insight.

Women are just obeying (instictively) their nature as females when they want to be beautiful, desired, enjoyed and delighted in. As Angela Thomas wrote, "The longing to be known as beautiful is a part of our design as women. God put us together this way on purpose. We are wired to long for beauty and to be known as beautiful." God wants all the same things, so He has put those characterisitcs of Himself in woman to reveal His own beauty and His desire for us to enjoy that beauty!

**Now, for a side note. God desires to use fathers and husbands and friends to affirm a woman's beauty...but none can answer this question that is attached to a woman's soul- Do You Think I'm Beautiful?- the way only God can.

"If the question "Do you think I'm beautiful?" came attached to my soul, then maybe the answer wasn't ever meant to fully come from this world. Maybe the purpose of the question is to take me by the hand and walk me into the presence of the Creator."

"The questions are rightfully mine, but the answers that truly fill and give stregnth will come only from God. It is so okay for my soul and yours to scream, "Do you think I'm beautiful?" And there is a transformation happening in my life as I listen to God tell me, resoundingly, "Yes"...If I knew that God called me beautiful, I could pursue my passions and live and love with abandon...the desparate search would be over. I would be noticed. Desired. Known." (Angela Thomas)

Do you now see how females were born with this longing to be beautiful? Do you understand why they have such a longing? Do you comprehend what the longing speaks to us of God? About His beauty? And about His desire for us to notice, enjoy and delight in His beauty?

These longings a woman has are not wrong. They were put there by the God who made them. They are, in fact, one of the ways women bear the image of God as females.

In my next post, I will write about the next way women reveal God's image...and it was also illustrated in my husband's letter to me.