Superwoman

I used to be a superwoman!

I think fondly back to my early-to-mid twenties when I thought I could do everything. When I could say ‘Yes’ to pretty much any deadline and all I had to do was a few almost-all-nighters. Sometimes that was a week of almost-all-nighters. At times it was rough. But I took pride in my energy, and I could perform. 

I know other superwomen too. Women who are very capable and can do a decent job of pretty much anything they put their minds to. I admire them, and I feel an affinity with them.

But now staying up late wrecks me. And I’m not the only one. Sooner or later my superwoman friends also discover their limitations.

But I often think of myself as that twenty-something woman who could do everything. I often forget that my capacity and time availability is significantly diminished from what I used to have.

And so I am very thankful that the incident involving Jesus, Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 was recorded for us. 

It’s a classic passage for a woman’s talk. We like to get distracted with busy-ness don’t we? So many things that are important to do – that we think have to be done.

But I am encouraged by Jesus’ words in vs 42 – “few things are needed”. 

As I consider this, I reflect on my current life situation and what the Lord has been teaching me. Over the last few years, with love, marriage, further study and then babies, I have found my capacity of time and energy increasingly diminished. Now, with a seven-month-old infant in tow, my time and energy is so restricted that I really do have to ruthlessly determine what really is needed to be done and what is ‘important but unnecessary right now’.

I was recently reminded that we are our habits. And so what sort of woman would I like to be? When my child takes her steadily diminishing nap, should I fill it with chores? 

Rather, like Mary listens to Jesus, so too I want to be a woman who is shaped by the words and life of Jesus, and spend some of those precious few minutes drawing near to him and dwelling on his word.

It is costly. My to-do lists increase, and some important things have been neglected for a long time. I used to be a superwoman and I feel the frustration of my increasing limitations. I want to get things done. I long to make art too. There are things I want to bake and there are so many books that I want to read. But I know the sort of woman that I need to be. I know that listening to Jesus is the most important thing and the thing that will shape me for the better in the long term.

And so that is what I will prayerfully keep striving to be. 

I may no longer be a super-woman, but I can be a woman who listens to Jesus. 

My dear superwoman, will you do so too?