This is for all you ladies that have grappled with the idea of the "Christian woman".
For those of you that have cried and prayed over nearly every verse in the Bible that says "woman" struggling to understand how those words could define you.
For the endless pink devotionals that told you how much you were loved and how God would never leave you, but never gave you a name or a vision.
For those who signed the "True Love Waits" cards and didn't and for those of you who are still waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting.
For those of you who were taught to be good, but know you are called to shake the whole world awake.
For those of you who were given a vision small enough to fit in a house with a white picket fence, when what you wanted was a vision so large you could spend your whole life dying for it.
To those who were taught to learn in submission, but couldn't help asking every conceivable question.
To those of you who believe men should lead, but miss having your chance to step up to the plate.
To the too-brazen, too-bold, too-intense, too-passionate and too-stubborn. I want to talk with you. I want to sit down and have a conversation over a pot of too-strong coffee. I want to trip over our tongues, slash-dashing though words and thoughts. I want to talk loudly, passionately, conspiratorially. I want to pick your brain. Let's talk about everything that matters. For now, can we skip the rest? Can we move past the mutual compliments and comparisons? Past the hair, the clothes, the make-up. Let's leave the "girl-talk" and for that matter the "boy-talk" too. I want to know who you call God. I want to know what sets you on fire. I want to know the kind of woman you hope to be on your deathbed. Tell me stories about how you've stood (or fallen). Let's forget about who is a wife, who is single, who is a mom, who is a girlfriend. Those are just phases we pass into and out of throughout our life.
But we are always women.
