To the women…

To the woman navigating menopause and still showing up, thank you.

To the woman building a career and to the woman holding a family together, thank you.

To the woman mothering young children, loving adult children, or carrying the ache of children who are struggling, thank you.

To the woman who is single, happily married, or barely hanging on, thank you.

To the woman with conservative convictions, and to the woman moved by social justice, thank you.

To the woman on the tennis court, at the PTA meeting, in the carpool line, or at a hospital bedside, thank you.

To the woman booking the trip, dropping off the meal, leading the fundraiser, or beginning again, thank you.

To the woman who loves being home and to the woman who needs a passport stamp to feel alive, thank you.

To the woman reading quietly, gathering people around her table, feeling deeply fulfilled, or feeling lonely in a room full of people, thank you.

To the woman who loves Jesus, loves Allah, or is still trying to make sense of God and her place in the world, thank you.

To the woman who is brave and bold, tired and still faithful, full of energy, or barely making it through the day, thank you.

To the woman who is worried, and to the woman who is celebrating, thank you.

We do not all carry the same burdens.
We do not all find joy in the same places.
We do not all contribute, lead, believe, give, rest, or rise in the same rhythm.

And that is okay.

This season of life is not meant to make us all the same.
It is meant to make us wise enough to honor one another.

So let’s be slower to compare and quicker to bless.
Slower to judge and quicker to honor.
Because every day, in a thousand visible and invisible ways, women are carrying more than we know and giving more than we can see.