Christian Women in Leadership

I would like to be more assertive for Christmas

I'm doing my own sort of case study on what it is to be a Godly woman (and what it's not). Although I really think that a Godly woman would not use vulgarity, and I try my best--despite working with so many swearers at the hospital, I honestly can not think of the Christian word of some of the things that I mean! In my defense, they are not such bad swear words...

Okay, this is what I have been thinking about, and I'm gonna ask some Godly women their opinion of this, too. I used to think being Godly, for women, was being a sort of plastic saint: a very complient, non-assertive, boring person. If I could take a magic wand and transform myself though, I would want to turn myself into a hardass, which is the only word I can think of that means what I'm trying to say.

I mean by "hardass" someone who doesn't take other people's crap. Here is an analogy that Sean used to explain; it's like everyone has a yard and sometimes other people's garbage comes across your yard because your fence isn't good enough. Problem being, you have your own "garbage" to take care of. So, if you want to be happy, since you already have your own garbage, you have to make sure other people don't throw their crap in your yard.

Jesus was that way. Remember the scene in the Temple? Overthrowing tables?

I have a few examples to go by. For example, one of the residents in the ER, Rachel, totally that way. She has just a look about her. Also, I know a few other people who are Christians...

I think there's sort of a continuem. On one extreme there is the bitch (see, another swear word), in the middle is a woman who is a hardass, and on the other side is a push-over. A woman who is a bitch is someone who manipulates, with anger, to get her own way: she throws her garbage on everyone else's yard because that's what she feels like doing--sin feels really good. On the other extreme is the push-over who accepts all the garbage people throw at her (probably because the bitch manipulated her into thinking it was her garbage, when really it wasn't--it was the bitch's garbage) and is left to deal with her own garbage, in addition to the other people's. She's overwhelmed and she doesn't have the energy or resources to clean up her own crap, because she's been decieved into thinking the bitch's neurosis were her problem.

Formerly a push-over, but now I want to be a hardass. The next time a person (man or woman) throws their crap in my yard, I'm going to let them know, that it's not really my crap, it's theirs. I think it will make me a much better medical doctor, and Christian person, a better member of the community. It is really the Christian thing to do. I'm not helping anyone by permitting the bitch personality (male or female) to give me their sins.

posted by the princess @ 12/23/2004 07:00:00 AM