Still No Apologies

"God Made a Mistake!"

Of course I know God does not make mistakes. And I knew that when I was little. I guess you can picture a seven year old girl yelling she is a mistake, and she was not meant to be a girl, because God messed up. Yeah, that girl was me. 😑

I am writing this because one of my friends is going through a similar, if not the same thing. I wonder how many other Christians feel this way, that us girls and women are being limited in the Christian faith and life.

When I was younger, I was really frustrated with many things about being a girl. My parents would tell me, "Be a lady!" and I would yell, "I don't wanna be a lady!" Ew, gross. Ladies. Even the word sound bad. 😆 Here WAS my take on being female (forgive me, ladies):

- "I hate having long hair. It gets into everything, takes time to brush, and my brothers can pull it when we are wrestling,"

- "I hate necklaces! My mom makes me wear them and it's really annoying. Like, what is this thing around my neck?"

- "Everyone thinks I'm cute. Ew. I'm not cute. I am a ferocious dinosaur! Rawr!"

- "Why do I have to wear dresses when we go to church? What is this? Who ever thought it was a good idea to attach a shirt and pants, except the pants are really loose and only have one leg?!"

- "Girls are weak! We get beat by the boys in races once we get older. I have to be the best at everything! My brothers aren't going to beat me! Ever!"

- "Girls are such wimps! And gossips! All they do is whine and talk about other people and act all fakey."

- "I NEVER WANT TO BE PREGNANT! WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT THAT?"

- "I have to submit to my future husband? No way! I'm not marrying!"

- (Get ready for a big lie) "God doesn't like girls as much as boys. He likes boys much better."

Being female back then was such an annoyance and I really hated it and wanted to be a boy. I would sometimes dress up like a boy, and try to hide my long hair. I thought I could pass for a boy, but I look very feminine.

I think a lot if it was stereotypes and my perfectionism. I had the idea that I had to be better at everything than anyone in the world. I don't know how I thought that was possible. Nobody was going to get ahead of me. No girl, no boy. Also, I was, and am, not the idea of a girl everyone seemed to have. Chatty, gossippy, loud, emotional, social, can't throw a ball (neither could I, but I could kick one! ⚽️), likes clothes and jewelry too much, wastes money and buys too many shoes, etc. Some girls are like this, but not me. I despised this expectation with every ounce of my being. I also did not like the girls in my church, who are mostly very shallow, rude, godless, and gossipy.

I also thought the Bible said women are below men.

I eventually grew out of this once I realized some things below. I think I finally got out of this at ten years old, at least. Plus, I got my hair cut short (not boy short) for the first time because of swimming at eleven. That made me so much happier, and I grew it out, and cut it again to donate.

My take on being a girl today:

- I like it a lot. I am glad I am a girl, not a boy.

- Girls on average have a higher IQ than males (but don't worry, males, you guys tend to have the highest IQs overall).

- Girls can see/recognize more colors than males.

- Girls can ride a princess bike if they want, and ride a more boyish (and/or cooler) bike if they want. They can also put on makeup if they want, and still fit in, but they don't have to. Basically, females are a lot more free in what we play with and how we express ourselves in this culture.

- Girls have TWICE as many pain receptors in their bodies as men. Twice! Yet their pain tolerance is much higher than a man's. By a lot. How's that for the stereotypical weak girl? (Sorry, men, this is true. 😁).

- I don't have to be like all those other girls to be a lady. I don't have to be super girly, either!

- There are female prophets in the Bible. Think about Deborah, as an example. (I told my dad there are female prophets in the Bible, and he was surprised! 😂)

- Christianity is the only religion in the world where women are equal to men. Don't believe me? Read how Jesus talked to women in the Bible.

- Women aren't inferior to men, they just have different roles. And God had to have someone be the boss in the male-female marriage relationship. So guys are the boss. (There ya go, boys).

- God made me a girl for a reason. Isn't that good enough?

XX,

Ellie

(Comment if you get the closing! 🤓)