The New Eve - Lewis Robert [38]
Conclusion
All this brings us to a second bold move for any New Eve wanting to live a life that honors God while managing the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Here it is:
Adopt a biblical definition of womanhood.
Doing so is crucial to vision, and vision is crucial to life. Hopefully, I've gotten you started with your vision by the definition of authentic womanhood set forth in this chapter. But here's the bottom line: as a woman, you cannot become what you cannot define. There will be pain, disappointment, dead ends, and years of undoing, redoing, or catching up on what was neglected or left out if you cannot see and envision where you are going.
The New Eve knows a better way. She has entrusted her life to God and to a biblical vision of womanhood that she believes will prove itself as the years roll by. Mary said it best: “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
7
The Seasons of a Woman's Life
(Part 1)
We have been seeking to construct a lifestyle that works for you as a Christian woman, one that is both true to the Bible and relevant to the modern world you live in. Thus far I have offered two bold moves to that end. First, a New Eve lives from the inside out. Second, she adopts a biblical definition of womanhood and lets that vision guide her life forward. Now here and in chapter 8, I want to discuss a third bold move. Simply put, a New Eve will …
Embrace a big-picture perspective on life.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 Solomon offers this succinct bit of wisdom: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” In other words, there are seasons in life. And each season naturally carries with it certain unique characteristics, themes, and priorities.
The wise woman will not only understand her current season of life but will also make the appropriate lifestyle choices to go with it. This in turn helps her to build and successfully unleash the next season. The key is not to get so caught up in personal wants and worldly ambitions that you neglect catching the seasonal winds essential to attaining the better life God wants to give you (Deut. 30:15–19; John 10:10b).
Unfortunately, this is what a growing number of women do, especially younger women. Right now becomes all they see. Never mind that some aspirations and desires are more suitable to one season than another. They mistakenly believe they can have anything anytime.
Take Evelyn, for example. Sharp and highly educated, she was crystal clear about what she wanted in a career: status, exciting assignments, financial security, and the freedom to make her own choices. The international law firm that hired her offered exactly that kind of future but at a price: long, hard work hours; 24/7 availability; being “dumped on” regularly by senior partners of the firm; and constant deadlines. It was the price of moving up. And in time Evelyn did.
She made junior partner by age twenty-seven and senior partner at thirty-eight. It was a thrilling ride that took everything she had, but it also delivered the future she once dreamed about.
Well … almost.
In her late twenties Evelyn became more and more aware of the men in her life. Actually, the lack of them. She had enjoyed a serious relationship the first year out of law school, but that failed shortly after she joined the firm. After that there was a long drought. At thirty-six she fell in love with one of her partners. After a year-long relationship they married. Two wonderful, fun-filled years followed. But then Evelyn turned forty, and it hit her: she wanted a child. So did her husband, Jim. The only problem was they soon found that Evelyn's aging ovaries and lack of eggs had put this now driving obsession out of reach. Even after spending tens of thousands of dollars on every kind of medical procedure possible, the answer always came back the same: no. To everything there is a season. Sadly, Evelyn had missed hers.
Many young women today often have an unconscious defiance to the reality that God has appointed specific