May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace...
(Psalm 144:12)
Did you hear it? Were you there Sunday? Did you hear our senior pastor take us to that verse in Psalm 144? If you didn’t, listen to it here. “A blessed culture” is one where the strength, stability, and weight-bearing is carried out by the women! That’s pretty exciting to me.
As I looked around the sanctuary, I saw women who I know are corner pillars. Women whose feet are immovable and whose hearts are strong even when the worst of circumstances surround them. When I consider the role of a pillar and what that may look like as I seek to live it out, I’m reminded of another verse - 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Being the weight-bearing, godly women we are designed to be is not easy when we have not been entirely freed from our sinful nature. I know my feet grow restless and my heart sick and sore. But the comfort, freedom, and peace comes in knowing that this role is not a circumstantial result of sin. It is the design and purpose that a holy God has assigned to me. And if he has deemed it good and necessary, he will give me the strength I need to continue.
Last week, I received a blog post from Desiring God Ministries (video below). Johnathan Todd also shared it with us on GOL, so you may have already seen it. But I have been so moved by this story of Ian and Larissa. There is no doubt that this precious woman knows her design. I have been humbled and mystified by the conscious decision this young, darling, energetic woman has made to display the glory of God in her life and in her marriage. I want you to see them. The video is beautiful... dreamy. But poke around and read the letters that Larissa shares. Larissa is living in a real, broken world but with the purpose of stability, strength, and hope. Only in Jesus.
Truly, not every woman has a physical child in this world. However, every woman was equipped to be a nurturer, and we are all mothering all the time through our relationships with one another. I do not know Larissa Murphy personally, and I am older than she is. But she has mothered me by pointing me to the cross and encouraging me to embrace my design as a “corner pillar cut for the structure of a palace.”
May the Lord raise up our women to act and function as corner pillars. And may he give us the wisdom to encourage each other to keep our feet firmly planted in our God.
*The Story of Ian and Larissa (video w/ remarks by John Piper)
*Follow-up articles from Larissa:
*Follow-up articles from Larissa:
- Part 1: Why We Got Married
- Part 2: Learning Contentment in Suffering
- Part 3: A Daily Disabled Life
