Generational Women

The name of my blog is Generational Womanhood so I wanted to ramble a bit about what this means to me. Thinking generationally is something that all Christians are called to do. We are to live our lives remembering that our time on earth is short and that we will leave footprints behind in the lives of others. Believing and knowing that we do influence one another, we must strive to live intentionally; joyfully looking toward a better place and soberly looking back at the generation who will be left behind.

This Christmas our family was blessed to be invited to several wonderful Christian weddings. A toast that was given at one of the weddings I found to be especially meaningful. The brother of the groom gave a wonderful speech exhorting the couple to seek God's blessing of children as they delighted in each other. He spoke about how the Lord uses children to mold us into His image and to change the world...and that believers are to be different than non-believers in that we are to carefully consider those in the younger generation as we live our lives.

I have mulled over his words and realized in a special way that one great dividing line between those of the faith and those outside it really is the way we view the younger generation. Do we have a responsibility toward them? Even if we have no children does it matter how we live today or tomorrow? Should we seek to grow into wise older people in order to impart our wisdom to our youth? Should we pass on material wealth as well as teaching the next generation how to manage it and steward it for God? Are we just supposed to get our kids raised to the age of eighteen and breathe a sigh of relief that "at least they still go to church"?

I am the wife of a busy, multi-talented man and the mother of eight children of all ages and stages of life. I spend a lot of time cooking meals, doing laundry, changing diapers (although the end is in sight:) and meeting lots of needs. Having a vision of something greater than dirty floors gives me a sense of destiny, a vision of the eternal, a hope of something glorious. That vision keeps me at my station and doing my duty when the sorrows of life press in or the temptations of the world call out. I want to cry out with Nehemiah, "I am doing too great a work and I cannot come down!" Too great a work? Yes, I am tending souls for the kingdom, however poor my effort may be. Too great a work? Yes, I am trusting Christ to be the strength in my weakness and through these eight Farris' change the world in His name.

Dear women. We have been given the unique ability to influence others. May the Lord grant us all the ability to perservere victoriously! May 2008 be a vision-building year for us all as we spend time in God's word and joyously do our duty. May we joyously grow into generational women.