Bold and Beautiful Exemplo

Femininity

Body:

Be honest. How many times have you tried to “man up” in your sport? To be less “girlie” and more like a guy. In today’s sports culture, that’s the standard. Men seem to set the bar for athletic achievement and strength, and we as women often feel like we have to be more like them in order to be successful and be taken seriously as a competitor. The stereotypical woman is too soft to be a serious athlete.

Have you read Proverbs 31? The woman that God designed has more in common with an athlete than a shopaholic, that’s for sure, yet she still has her feminine identity, her gentle love, her kindness and her compassion. So what makes us think we have to disown that femininity in order to be a serious competitor? 

The truth is that we don’t. When we read God’s Word and find out what it really means to be a strong woman of the Lord, we will find that we can be the model of a graceful competitor, filled with strength, tenacity and focus while keeping the gentleness, grace and beauty that sets us apart from our male counterparts.

In Proverbs 31:10, the very first phrase used to describe this model woman of God includes the word “capable.” Now, you may think that’s a pretty bland attribute, but not when you understand that this word in its original Hebrew was used to describe heroic military men. This word meant strong, mighty and filled with competence and vigor in warfare. Talk about the opposite of weak. We are called to be mighty by the same God who calls us beautiful (Psalm 45:11)!

Keep reading past verse 10 and you find that this woman is trustworthy, energetic, strong, generous, smart, compassionate, confident, and wise and so much more. Her kids and her husband love her—just like our teams and our families will love us when we seek to become the woman God made us to be and release ourselves from the pressure to be more like a man.

Ladies, here’s the thing, you were made to be a woman, filled with beauty and loveliness, but that doesn’t disqualify you from being a strong competitor. You don’t have to relinquish your femininity to be a serious athlete. Studying God’s Word and learning the true definition of a woman, according to His design, you can be both bold and beautiful, just the way you are.

QUESTION:

1. What female stereotypes do you feel hindered you when competing?
2. Go through Proverbs 31 and identify all the characteristics of a godly woman that can apply to you as an athlete.