For me, the first reason that it feels odd is that I know that pride is something that we must be careful with. Outward pride is not something that God values. It is said in the bible that he opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Feeling pride can eventually turn into showing pride outwardly and even arrogance. That is not something that I want. However, I think there is more to it than this.
Even if I limited my womanly pride to an inward feeling, it still feels odd. I think that is because being a woman is not something I accomplished. I did not work hard to be a woman. I did not sacrifice anything or practice for hours. I did not study or exert any amount of energy. I was born this way.
I am not saying that I am not glad that I am female. I love being female for many reason, perhaps the greatest of which is because being female allowed me to be pregnant and become a mother. Being part of that miracle is the most amazing thing I have ever done and being female allowed me to share in that. I feel blessed to be a woman. I feel specifically blessed to be born, as a sister and daughter, into the family that God chose for me. I feel blessed to have the friends that I do and to marry the man that I did and to be the mother of amazing children. I feel very good about things that I have accomplished in my life and at times, I have even felt pride about them. But I am not sure pride is the right way to describe how I feel about being a woman.
So how do I feel? I feel blessed and glad to be a woman. I feel content and, ironically enough, sometimes humbled to be woman. I feel that being a woman offers some special grace but also comes with great responsibility.
I am not sure what made me just come to this realization, or if it will actually change much in my thoughts or actions, but I am sure that I will give it more thought.
How do you feel about your gender?
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