A Woman of Strength and Softness
Surrendered heart, not surrendered identity
a strength to be reckoned with
She does not demand respect
but you want to give it to her
Her presence invites you to rest
in fact she is like a tree
holding forth nurturing branches
not a spiderweb, trapping you for her soul food
Her vulnerability is so lovely
you cannot keep your soul out of hers
She is marked by genuine kindness
of one who has already forgiven you
for how you will fail her
She exudes the kind of strength
that trusts and waits and suffers
as unto God's purposes, not her own
She lays her own life down
like a lamb, not a dog
Her surrender flows from her love
not fear or desperation
Her surrender is a chosen thing
She lives in the vulnerability of her longing to be treasured
her longing to be known
her longing to be invited in
But she lets her disillusionment
tenderize, not toughen her heart
She does not hold the objects of her love captive
She does not make them pay
or tie them to her with guilt
or keep them in terror of her critical eye
But rather lets them fly free
Enjoying all the more the reunion
They get to choose to be with her
She lives at the mercy of no one
She is captive only to the Father
Thus she is free to love
Even if it means she loses
She chooses doing love over getting love.
Written by Lottie K. Hillard
