It's that time of the year again, when the world celebrate women and women's history. We're dedicating the whole month of March to celebrate international women's month and I've been reflecting on the blessing of women and sisterhood that
I've experienced as a younger woman myself. I think of how every woman in my life who has impacted me had a familiar feeling
of home about them that made them nurturing, warm and safe.
I think of my own mom and how she still mothers
me even though I'm in my 20s and I'm living far away from home.
I think of my younger sister who brings so much joy
into my life just by being herself. She is one of the most industrious young
people I know about and more specifically, the most amazing Gen Z CEO I know
of! She inspires me a lot!
I think of my good friend whom I met in my third
year on campus. We were in the same hostel and we were both serving as
chaplains. She’s the only one from my university days with whom I nurtured a
fulfilling relationship long after we both graduated. We’ve lived in multiple
cities but still been in each other’s lives, blessing each other.
I think of a senior friend turned sister, whom I
met way back on campus during my undergraduate level. She was a senior and a
leader that I looked up to. She took me in and cared for me. I was super young
back then so it was nice. She’s my mother’s namesake and she’s also from the
same state and tribe as we are. It’s been many years since we graduated from
school but we’ve reconnected a lot more, now. She is married and has two
adorable children. My younger sister and I utterly delight in her and we think
she reminds us a lot of our own mom even though she and our mm have never met!
How cool! Maybe they’re soul sisters. Lol. I remember reflecting on how I would
go and spend the night at her place and eat homecooked meals and cook with her
and just have a good time.
I think of a woman who is a mother of children
that I met in this new city where I am and its been years now and she's like a
big sister to me.
I think of two young women I met in this new city
and connected with as sisters in Christ. We got to do teenage ministry together
and now, even though they’ve both relocated to another country and different
cities, I still think of them and the blessing they’ve been to me.
I think of an older woman with whom I was leading
in a church department and how she always calls to check up on me and care for
me. When I was away from home on Christmas day last year, she invited me to her
home for a Christmas meal. It felt so good, like a home away from home. It felt
so nostalgic the way she cared for me.
I think of the fruit lady who sells beside our
church who always asks me how I’m doing and who always asks after my family and
who gifts me fruits a lot!
I think of all the older women in church who give me
warm smiles and bear hugs and ask how I’m doing.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. I say it takes a special village of amazing women to raise a female child. I love the women I’m surrounded with. I’ve been blessed by them and I thank God for them.
I think of a few beautiful reflections that come
to heart as I celebrate the amazing women in my life this global Women’s
History month.
A home in
womanhood
What do you think about when you think of home? I
think of warmth. Warm, delicious meals. Warm, clean clothes. Warm rooms.
Familiarity. Safety. Comfort. Lots of love and care and nurture. My mom embodies
this a lot but so do the women I talk about, here.
I think of family life and the daily mess and
mundane of daily living that sustains human life, flourishing and wellbeing.
Cooking healthy meals, buying healthy foodstuffs, laundry, chores of keeping
the house clean, keeping the children well fed, clean and healthy. We don’t
talk about this often. It’s often the thankless job that goes unrewarded for
life. But this is the stuff of birthing and sustaining life.
My mom stewarded this so well. Many moms do. But
this warmth and love and nurturing that the women in my life embody is a
picture of Christ too. Scriptures talks about Christ dwelling in our hearts by
faith. What does this mean? What does this look like? It looks like knowing I
belong to Christ no matter how messy life becomes. It means that Christ is at
home in my life and I find my home in Him and I never have to fight to earn
that. I am accepted in the beloved.
Hospitality
and Healing
My parents have told beautiful stories of their
moms and it’s always lovely to refresh them. I think of my grandma who would
welcome strangers into her home and feed them and how hospitality was a second
nature for her. My mom still embodies that today. I think of how these women
embody HOME and HOSPITALITY so much that it points me to Christ.
I read Max Lucado’s book “Outlive Your Life”
where he dedicated a whole chapter to hospitality and titled it, “Open Your
Door, Open Your Heart.” Here’s a brief excerpt from this:
How would you have liked to be the one who opened his home for Jesus? You
can be. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you
did for me” (Matt. 25:40 NIV). As you welcome strangers to your table, you are
welcoming God himself.
Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in
a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table
you see the expressions on faces. In the auditorium one person speaks; around
the table everyone has a voice. Church services are on the clock. Around the
table there is time to talk.
Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community. It’s no accident that
hospitality and hospital come from the
same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you
open your door to someone, you are sending this message: “You matter to me and
to God.” You may think you are saying, “Come over for a visit.” But what your
guest hears is, “I’m worth the effort.”
Do you know people who need this message? Singles who eat alone? Young
couples who are far from home? Coworkers who’ve been transferred, teens who
feel left out, and seniors who no longer drive? Some people pass an entire day
with no meaningful contact with anyone else. Your hospitality can be their
hospital.
I think of all the times I’ve watched my mom show
hospitality to someone at home and all the times the women in my life have
shown hospitality to home when I’m away from home and I cannot help but think of
all the silent case studies of healing women are bringing into the world that we
may never know about.
Two
generations of women and a third-generation man
The second reflection I have is about how we
cannot quantify the full impact of women – in our lives and in the world. Thankfully,
there’s some data that talks about how women are moving our societies forward and
shaping both the world we live in and the future we’re heading to. But we might
never fully know the full extent of women’s impact.
I think of two generations of women mentioned in
the New Testament: Timothy’s mom and grandmom. 'That precious memory triggers
another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your
grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you!” – 2 Timothy 1:5 MSG
We don’t know much else about these women. We
simply know that they were Timothy’s mom and grandma and that they were devout
women of faith who played a crucial role in his spiritual upbringing. Paul
commended their genuine faith (2 Timothy 1:5) and acknowledged that Timothy had
been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood (2 Timothy 3:15), likely through
their influence. Acts 16:1 tells us that Eunice was a Jewish woman who became a
believer in Christ, but Timothy’s father was Greek. This suggests that Timothy
was raised in a mixed-faith household, but his mother and grandmother took the
lead in nurturing his faith, ensuring that he was taught the Scriptures. Their
example highlights the power of a godly heritage and the profound impact of
faithful women in shaping future generations for God’s work.
I recently listened to the excerpt of a sermon from Pastor Jonny Ardavanis on this and I was so blessed by it! He said:
“Paul entrusted the future of the church to a man whose primary influences
outside of himself were his mom and his grandma. I find that remarkable. I find
that amazing to read Paul's final words. He's about to be beheaded, and he
tells Timothy, ‘Remember what Grams taught you.’ I want you to know that world
changers, gospel ambassadors, powerful preachers, leaders with spiritual
conviction, men and women are not created in a vacuum. There's a pedigree, not
socially, but spiritually. Almost every single person you've ever met that is
influential for the kingdom of God, has multiple seeds of investment being
poured into them over a long period of time. And Paul just says, ‘Timothy, I'm
going to be dead. But remember what your mom and grandma taught you while you
sat on their knee.’ There's no telling how big of an impact a godly woman can
have for the kingdom of God.”
It’s incredible to
think that Paul, in his final moments, didn’t point Timothy to strategy,
theological debates, or leadership techniques – but to the simple, faithful
teaching of his mother and grandmother. It reminds me of how God often works
through quiet, consistent faithfulness, shaping world-changers long before they
ever step into leadership. It’s a call to honor the spiritual investments made
by those who nurture faith in others, especially within families. Truly,
there’s no telling how big of an impact a godly woman can have for the kingdom
of God!
I was so blessed by
this sermon excerpt because I’m listening to it in March – as the world
celebrates Women’s
History Month. This makes it even more powerful because it highlights the
often-overlooked impact of godly women in shaping history – not just in
society, but in the kingdom of God. Eunice and Lois weren’t famous or
high-ranking leaders, yet their faithfulness shaped Timothy, a key figure in
the early church. It’s a reminder that women who invest spiritually in others –
whether as mothers, grandmothers, mentors, or friends – are history-makers in
God's eyes.
Not everything that counts can be
counted
I think of a virtual symposium I attended in January on AI and Christianity where I met two of some of the most accomplished
Christian visionary women in our society today: Joanna W. Ng and Rosalind
Picard. They both work in the field of AI and are such powerful innovators and
tech leaders today. During that symposium, I remember that an argument was
raised about the limitations of AI and data-driven decision-making, and a striking comment was made, that “Not everything that counts can be counted.”
This statement was made in the context of explainable AI – how models can
reinforce biases if we don’t question the data they’re built on. One example
she gave was an Amazon hiring experiment, where an AI model trained on past
employees ended up filtering out female and non-white applicants because it
learned from an already biased dataset. Another case involved a veteran
healthcare study, where an AI system classified high blood pressure as 'normal'
simply because most veterans had it – completely missing the medical reality
that high blood pressure was still a health risk. The key takeaway? Numbers don’t always tell the full story.
I think about this comment today and how true it
is, not only in the realm of AI but it so aptly sums up my second reflection on
this point. “Not everything that counts
can be counted” is especially true when we think about women’s
contributions to society. Success is often measured in titles, salaries, or
statistics, but some of the most powerful impacts of women can’t be neatly
quantified – the sacrifices, the wisdom, the quiet leadership that shapes
families, communities, and history itself – and just because something isn’t
easily measured doesn’t mean it’s not invaluable.
On this side of eternity, we’ll never fully know
the extent, depth and breadth of our impact. We know in part and understand in
part. The script isn’t marked yet. We’ll only know when we get to heaven. The impact
of my mom and the women who have impacted me may never fully be known. The impact
of the women who have brought healing and love to a sick, dying world may never
fully be known and acknowledged until we get to Heaven. Motherhood is
holy work, it’s a picture of the deep, sacrificial love of Christ. We’ll never
fully grasp the depth of God’s love for us which he demonstrated through the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ on the cross for the salvation of humanity, until we see Jesus face to face, in Heaven.
It’s so comforting to know this: No labour of love - no tears, no sweat, not heartache, no sacrifice, no longing felt, no affection given, no prayers made - is ever wasted. Even the thankless jobs that seem to go unrewarded are all captured in the hands and hearts of our loving Saviour, the one who sacrificed everything on the cross to save us, just because He loved us. He did this even while we were still His enemies, so that by faith in Him, we can receive new life and enjoy the warmth of His love and be forever accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).
As we celebrate women’s month 2025, this is where my heart rests, the recognition that “not everything that counts can be counted.” I celebrate our moms and every woman in my life and in the world who have mothered me, shared their lives with me, nurtured me with affection and reminded me of the bigger picture - the sacrificial love of Christ that has saved my life.
Not yet in the fam?
God is a good Father who loves you so much and wants you to be part of His family as His child. He offered His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pursue your heart and save you and bring you into the family. All you need to do is to receive His love and you can live in it and enjoy it for the rest of your life. Will you receive it? Then please say this prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to save me from my sins and give me eternal life. I believe in my heart that Jesus died for my sins, He was buried and on the third day, He rose again, to make me right with you. I declare that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. I thank you that I am now saved and I'm a member of your family. I ask that You fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me to know You more. In Jesus' name, amen.
Welcome!
If you said this prayer for the first time, you're now a child of God and I am excited that you are my sibling in Christ. Welcome!!! 🥳There's a whole party going on in Heaven right now, on your behalf, like the excitement over a newborn baby. Will you please reach out to me and let me bless you with a resource that will help you get started on your journey of faith? Click here to do so. I love you and can't wait to meet you.
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