The Destination: Hope

Copyright 2017                                             by Aleasa Word​ 

I've often heard women ask why we have to go through so many things. If you think about the journey of womanhood, it is sometimes overwhelming to talk about the challenges many face. Whether affected by illness, divorce, financial distress or anything else, the role of women always seems to be one that must be strong enough to endure with a smile and still give hope to others.
In my life, I have had the opportunity and challenge to be the leaning post for so many people I can’t count. My family has always believed me to be a pillar of strength and knowledge for when they need to be inspired to remain strong. My friends have looked to me as their never bending confidant. One friend recently told me she felt I’m like a piece of glass that even when it breaks from life’s challenges it always remains a peace of glass, strong and shiny. And I dare not forget that even my parents have been proud of my ability to endure the trials of life that have hit me hard while often letting me know how I came from strength passed down from generations. What happens when we as women simply can’t smile? Who do we turn to? Who do we lean on when the entire world is leaning on us?
If you’re anything like me, some days having to be the strong one gets downright tiring. It can be terribly frustrating to feel like you can’t take a minute off to be the one who needs someone else’s strength to lean on when life sends you a curve ball. The reality is that if we don’t learn how to stand down for lack of a better term, the pressure can be like a ticking time bomb in our bodies. Super women can become super weak and begin to think we are losing our drive to push for hope and even our minds right along with it.
From the young ladies with ancestors who survived torture and enslavement to those who did not, women share a common thread in this thing called life!  We make our kids feel better when they’re scared. And though men are taking more of a role in caring for families than ever before, we are still looked to for our wisdom and ability to figure things out against all odds. We are the warm and nurturing force that will still fight for our young. We are the caregivers that will spend our last drop of energy taking care of the sick and needy while taking a moment to feel sorry for those that harm us at the same time. Simply said, we are the portals from which life comes. We are THAT vessel that is used to continue populating and caring for our precious mother earth. That includes women who can’t have children as well.  Though they may never physically produce a child the spirit of life in their hearts and minds bears fruit every day they breath on this earth and in many case long beyond.
In this world there will be challenges that women face and no one even knows about. Some may carry the family past infidelity or illness. Some may walk to encourage other women to be the best they can be and not forget to care for themselves in the process. When our bodies break down we still fight to make a difference. We smile when we are hurting and encourage others. We have an endless bank of hope in our arsenal of womanhood.
Women may fight but when the rough times come we learn to band together. We help our sisters in our families, sisters at work, sisters in churches and throughout the communities we work and live in. We are that smile and that soft touch that says it’s going to be ok. We are the voice that lets others we got this and the plan will come together somehow.
In recent years, my struggles left me without the ability to be that strong person in my family for a bit. It was the women in my family who stepped up the most to help with the things I needed to do so I could stay on top of what was important in my own life. It was then that what was always in front of me because so apparently clear. Even when I’d thought things were bad during times of challenge there was hope. There was hope that the next day would be better. There was hope that I’d understand the meaning of things I was dealing with. There was hope that my kids would get through things unscathed. There was hope that the creator I believe in God himself would step in and make things right.
Life is HOPE! And women are the portal through which that hope travels with every birth and every child nurtured to become the very best they can be. Hope is you, hope is me! 

​Photo: DawnFu/Pixabay

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