“Listen to the Voice of God!…How powerful and majestic is her voice!”
Psalm 29, Swallow’s Nest, p. 47.
I am not so good at listening to women, giving them authority. Nor do I always expect to be heard as a woman, especially by men.
I am reading Micha Boyett’s Found and enjoying it immensely. I relate to Micha’s “failed-to-be-a-missionary—now-a-mother” angst and I love her writing.
Early on in the book, though, I caught myself dismissing her voice about the Benedictine tradition she explores. I’m actually very attracted to the idea of ordering life according to prayer and work, service and worship. But because Micha is a woman, and maybe even more so because she is a young mom, I could not let her teach me very well.
Thankfully, the Lady God was moving in my heart and telling me, “Listen. Listen.” And so I did, with new ears. I am almost at the end of Micha’s book and she has gained for me the authority she deserves.
So often I treat God the same way. I don’t listen to her, as though she were “just a woman.” As though her voice were optional in my life, as though she was operating on some fake authority. Especially since she speaks so softly.
Coincidentally, a lot like me.