Changing Roles of Women: How to Handle the 21st Century Challenges
Article by Pastor Sheryl Brady Special to EEW Magazine
In 1966, the legendary singer James Brown released one of his most well known songs titled “It’s a Man’s World.” At the time of its release and for many years to come, his words were indeed true of the American society at large. Men have predominately been the frontrunners for decades—holding the top jobs and grossing the highest salaries compared to women. But, as many of you who are reading this can attest to, times have certainly changed.
With our country’s recent economic crisis, the latest reports from the United States Department of Labor show that the unemployment rate of men is now significantly higher than that of women. Women are now finding themselves in the roles that their husbands occupied for so long and are doing so with the added pressures that naturally come with being the woman of the house. These are definitely trying times that we are in that require a new breed of women to handle them. Being a woman in 2011 is not for the faint of heart. If there was ever a need for a unified front with our fellow sisters, that time is now. If you’ve found yourself at the front of the line in your family, you may be asking yourself, ”So what’s a girl to do?” I’m glad you asked.
You Were Built to Handle Pressure
The first thing you have to realize as a woman is that you were built to be able to handle this kind of pressure. Psalms 103:14 says “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Any time I am in a place that feels that I cannot go any further; I remember that God knows my frame. The Creator of the universe knows every detail about you. He knows how you process stress, what makes you tick and what makes you want to ‘flip out’. Regardless of how difficult your life is right now, God himself knows what you are capable of handling. Rest in the fact that a loving God, who knows us so well, could never place more on us than we are able to bear.
Embrace Where You Are
Secondly, learn to embrace where you are with an open mind and an open heart. I’ve learned so many times in my life that if I would just accept a new season, no matter how difficult it may seem to be, that God would use it to expose me to things I would have never thought possible. Just as a mother eagle will forcefully nudge her eaglet out of the nest to teach it to fly, God will sometimes use uncomfortable circumstances to do the same with us. The mother eagle knows that the potential to fly is in her offspring and therefore is not nervous about pushing it to do something it was naturally born to do. Allow God to push you to heights you have never dreamed possible in this season of your life.
I encourage all of you who are married, please be aware that this is an awkward situation for your husband as well. Ask God to help you be sensitive during this time and try everything in your power to make him feel important in your marriage. Men typically place a high value on their ability to earn a living and provide for their family and you should make every attempt to let him know that he is still the head of your family, regardless of his employment status.
Come Into Agreement with Someone
Lastly, find other Christian sisters that you can confide in about your current situation and come into agreement for God to strengthen you. As Jesus stated in Matthew 18:19 “…if two of you agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” I firmly believe that there are some things you are not going to receive from God until you come into agreement with someone. One of my most enjoyable ways that I join forces with my Christian sisters, is my time ministering at the “Woman Thou Art Loosed!” conference hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes. Women from all over the world join together to be refreshed and refueled for the tasks that are before them. I encourage you to attend this year’s conference from October 20 to 22, 2011 at Lakewood Church in Houston, the church home of Pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen. For more information or to register, visit www.wtal.org. There is nothing like it…it will change your life!
The role of women in our society has changed substantially over the years. And although we are not quite where we would like to be, we pause to thank God for how far he has brought us. We acknowledge that America is still a great nation and rest in the hope that our faith in Christ will bring us through any trial. Yes, James Brown’s lyrics may be correct…”this is a man’s world…but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.”
ABOUT THIS WRITER
A pastor, lecturer and recording artist, Pastor Sheryl Brady has traveled extensively around the globe for more than 25 years, previously as a psalmist and now as a speaker at conferences and churches. Her gift of delivering spiritual wisdom has positioned her as a sought after conference speaker and featured guest on Trinity Broadcasting Network, Daystar Television Network, The Word Network and The Inspiration Network. She has also served as a speaker at numerous conferences including the internationally acclaimed MegaFest and was the first female speaker ever at ManPower 2010, the men-only conference hosted by Bishop T. D. Jakes.
As an artist, Pastor Brady has recorded several music projects and appeared as a guest artist on Bishop T. D. Jakes' Woman, Thou Art Loosed album, in which she co-wrote the title cut on this Grammy, Dove and Stellar Award-nominated recording.
Pastor Brady also serves as the Campus Pastor of The Potters House North Dallas. The new campus launched its worship services just prior to Easter 2010 and has grown nearly 1000-fold by focusing on family-centric outreach programs and by highlighting Pastor Brady's unique worship style and adherence to solid Biblical principles.
18 Comments
Reader Comments (18)
I love your ministry Pastor Brady!!! I will definitely be at Woman Thou Art Loosed! I'm so excited!
This is my first time becoming familiar with your ministry. What a powerful article. As a professional woman, I find it difficult sometimes to be a primary bread winner. The recession has been unkind to my family, but thank God for preserving me and my job. Now I am learning how to be a humble wife even though I'm bringing in most of the money into the house. I appreciate your wisdom and may God continue to bless you.
Pastor Brady, this is an excellent piece! The role of women has definitely changed. We're CEO's and bosses now. I think that makes it difficult for a lot of us to balance our home life with family life. I'm 39 and I want to be married with a family some day, but I don't know how that fits into my life. I love the balanced perspective you present in this piece.
I find it very hard to find good solid sisters to connect with at times. Many of them have let me down when I confided in them about what was going on in my life. I agree with what you said though, that we need someone to touch and agree with us. Very true!
I feel guilt after reading some of what you said. I had not taken time to notice that this is "awkward" for my husband to be laid off and unable to provide. I work from home and I feel resentment creeping in when we can't maintain the lifestyle we're used to.
I'm 58 years old. Back in my day the role of women was to take care of their husband and the family. I try to explain to my two daughters that they have a different set of goals but still family has to be a first priority. I have emailed this article to them.
I am a working mother and it gets hectic! Thanks for the encouragement.
Greetings to you woman of God! I have been blessed by your ministry for years and this article had a tremendous impact. I have been in ministry for over 30 years and my husband was injured on the job 4 years ago, so he can't work. This transition has been a real challenge. I have to juggle so many responsibilities and esteem him highly as the godly man he is. This is not easy and I don't get it right all the time but I'm striving!
I will be at Lakewood! I can't wait!! Great article Pastor Brady and thanks for the encouragement. I admire your ministry so much.
I so enjoyed this! It is truly a changing day that we live in. A good girlfriend of mine was just promoted to CEO of her marketing firm and it was so wonderful to celebrate with her. She is not married, but seeing her rise to the top like that is so inspiring. It is happening for the ladies. Great piece!
Hello Pastor! I will be there along with a group from our women's ministry. We are looking forward to a move of God at Woman Thou Art Loosed! God bless.
What a profound word! As a co-pastor, wife, and mother, I understand the struggles of balancing all things. But I like what you said: we were built to handle pressure! I am encouraged today!
I often look to my mother for advice about balance, but in her generation women weren't doing the same kinds of things. So I find that I hit up against a brick wall every now and again. Thank you for recognizing the shift and explaining how to handle things God's way. Praise God for you Pastor Sheryl.
Awesome word!!!!! For women who are trying hard to hold things together, God is on our side! Needed this today!
Thank you, Pastor Sheryl, for providing a balanced, biblical perspective of this phenomenon in American society!
This is so timely and relevant! There is definitely a shift in the 21st century and we can't ignore it any longer. We have to find ways to address it God's way and you've done an excellent job of that here.
I agree that times have changed. I like the way you keep the article balanced though. Because we still need to respect our men.
This is a wonderful post! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! I hope to read more of your post which is very informative and useful to all the readers. I salute writers like you for doing a great job! Move to Australia NC