Another Woman of Valor

“Eshet chayil—woman of valor— has long been a blessing of praise in the Jewish community. Husbands often sing the line from Proverbs 31 to their wives at Sabbath meals. Women cheer one another on through accomplishments in homemaking, career, education, parenting, and justice by shouting a hearty “eshet chayil!” after each milestone.  Great women of the faith, like Sarah and Ruth and Deborah, are identified as women of valor.”

--Rachel Held Evans

My friend Rachel, who makes her living as a writer and hosts a blog, has a series dedicated to women of valor.  I have been inspired by these stories and want to share this story as my own reflection on a “woman of valor” that I know.

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This is a picture of Lindsey with her best friend, Karlee.  They are both wonderful girls, but I want to tell you about Lindsey.  One of the best parts of my job is that I get to work with the same kids year after year, and because of this I get to see the progress they make as they mature.

When I first met Lindsey as a third grader, she was lots of fun, but she could often be almost paralyzed by fear.  She was afraid of tests and grades and lots of other parts of school, and she could often have a melt-down.

When she got to middle school she faced some tremendous challenges with her health.  She had to learn to manage diabetes, and also had to have some brain surgery for ongoing issues she has dealt with from very early in her life.  After her surgery she had to undergo some occupational therapy to regain some physical skills that she was struggling with.

She has always had a love for music and theater and over the time I have known her, I have been able to attend many of her performances at the Cumberland County Playhouse.  She competed and won the honor of being All-State in Choral Music last year.

She has always had courage.  When you have as many challenges as she does, you have to have courage.  But the past couple of weeks, I've been so impressed with how far she has come in facing obstacles.

Last week I offered a trip to visit the Tennessee Tech campus for a tour.  Lindsey signed up to come, but one of her teachers was very upset that she would miss her class right before EOC testing.  There was a time when this would have led to a meltdown for Lindsey, but after some thought and some discussion with her parents, she was able to tell her teacher she was still going on the trip.  She said, "I've got a 100+ average in this class; I think it will be okay."

Saturday I took students to the zip line at Ruby Falls.  Lindsey came along, even though she would be the first to tell you that she is not the most coordinated person in the world.  She said, "I just want to be able to say, 'I've done a zip line.'"  So even though she was quite unsure if she would be able to make it through, she stepped out onto the obstacles.  She did many of them by herself with a few words of advice or encouragement from those around her.  There were a couple that she needed extra help with, and our guide did an excellent job of getting her through the rough spots.  

I am so proud of her, and all she has accomplished.  She has a strong and courageous spirit, and I wanted to take this moment to salute her.

Eschet chayil, Lindsey, Woman of Valor!

One of my Heroes

This week I watched former president Jimmy Carter on the Colbert Report.  I was so impressed by President Carter's whole interaction with Colbert.  The 89-year-old was fully aware of who Colbert is and the schtick he engages in, and Carter held his own with ease.  President Carter was engaging and funny, and Phil and I thought afterwards that we would enjoy listening to him talk about lots of the issues of the day.

In fact, Jimmy Carter is one of my heroes.  I am not a person who writes fan mail to public figures or celebrities, but recently I sent President Carter the letter that follows (in part).  Although most people think he was not an effective president, he has made the most of his post-presidency years, and leads initiatives around the world that are informed by his Christian beliefs.  You can find out more about the work of the Carter Center here, and the work of The Elders here.

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                                                                        January 19, 2014

Dear President Carter:

            Tonight as I sat in church my pastor spoke from Matthew 5 on the Beatitudes.  He focused on the third statement in this list, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”   As I thought about meekness, you were the person who came to my mind.  The night before I had just watched the movie Argo, so I had reason to have you on my mind.  But I made the connection because your actions in the Iranian Hostage Crisis were a display of meekness not often seen in a leader who has such power.  My husband and I discussed what an amazing thing it was that you lead us through that crisis without taking us into a war (which puts you in line to come to my mind when the pastor preaches on peacemakers). 

            I was a young college student at the time of this event, and I really did not understand what you were doing.  I was living in the middle of the Christian right culture that seemed to live by the motto, “Might makes right,” even though that isn’t in the Bible.  It is only as I have aged that I have come to see the courage and character it took for you to do what you did...

Finally, I appreciate your work with The Elders.  Thank you for uniting with others to use your experience and influence to make the world a better place.  You are truly an inspiration to me, and I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you so.

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Recently, I received my letter back in the mail with this notation at the bottom:

Phil and I examined it, and it is actually signed by President Carter.  This just bumped him up a few more notches in my book.  

     

Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates

Today in Sunday School we were studying Psalm 24.  The second half of the psalm goes like this:

Lift up your heads, you gates; 
    

be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    

that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?
    

The Lord strong and mighty, 
    

the Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, you gates;
    

lift them up, you ancient doors,
    

that the King of glory may come in. 

Who is he, this King of glory?
    

The Lord Almighty—
    

he is the King of glory.

This is called a song of ascent and scholars say it was written by David to celebrate the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.  You can read the story here.  This is also a Messianic psalm, and it was played out on Palm Sunday with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

But today the thought that really grabbed our attention was the thought that this psalm played out again the day that Jesus ascended into heaven.  Just imagine the heavenly host assembled to greet our great Savior as He returned triumphant from the grave, to take once again the throne that He alone is worthy to occupy.  

He is the King of Glory.  He is the Lord mighty in battle, God of the Angel Armies.  He came to Earth and defeated the enemy, conquered death, and freed all the captives.  Not one part of His mission was left undone.  

Imagine the celebration of that moment!

I am so glad to acknowledge once more that Jesus is my Savior, that He is alive and He lives in me and through me.  I opened the gates of my heart, and He entered.  And I have never been the same.

A version of these verses featuring Mahalia Jackson

These verses set to music in Handel's Messiah.

My Dear Children

It's the season for birthdays in the Kiper household.  Both Kathryn and Will were spring babies; spring is such a great time to be born!  These two people changed my life when they entered it, and they continue to make me change and grow.  I am thankful for the great relationship we all have and the wonderful people they have become.  They make me very happy!

As in most families, we take time on birthdays to remember the day they were born, often retelling the events of the day and the excitement of their arrival into the world.  This year we broke out old pictures and looked again at what precious children they were when they were little.  Here's a sampling:

Roarrrrr!
I have always loved this picture of Will.

Kathryn in one of my favorite outfits on her.

Kathryn with one of her teddy bears.
She had one that played music that shc called "Singing Bear."

Will's newborn picture
He says, "Hi!"

Both my kids are on the brink of new chapters in their lives, Kathryn as a parent, and Will as a college graduate.  I look forward to seeing what the future holds for both of them.  They are my dear children!