The Adventures of Superwoman and her Inability to be Super

For some odd reason, women think that they must master everything, become a "Jane of all trades," so to speak. I know that men are portrayed as the "fixers," the ones who must help solve everyone's dilemmas, but women are the creatures who add the element of "neurotic and irrational thought" to the mix, altogether becoming a recipe for extreme overwhelmed-ness. As a woman, I must ensure that I am beautiful. I must weigh a certain number, put my makeup on everyday, keep my hair highlighted. The world must see that I am put together. I also must become two people: the Homemaker, skilled in the arts of womanly things such as cooking, cleaning, nurturing both children and men, and scrapbooking...and the Feminist, embracing the hard-fought "We Can Do It!" attitude which requires me to take on extreme sports, the corporate ladder, and an ability to speak my opinions. Women must submit, yet lead. We must take care of our home. And for those women who do not yet have a family of their own, they must continuously make sure that sisters, mothers, brothers, dads are all taken care of, putting time in with each. Don't forget the qualities which make this single woman marketable: education, sense of humor, etc. At what point, I ask, does Superwoman scream out in frustration, fling her cape to the ground and groan, "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"?

I am only 23, but I see that this "save the world" syndrome we females embrace cannot possibly be Scriptural. It says in the Bible very clearly that we are weak. God has designed us with a breaking point, one that should signal we heroes of the world that we cannot, I repeat, CANNOT, do everything. Why? Because we would no longer have a need for Him.

Here is the truth that I as well as the rest of you girls nodding your heads out there need to wrap our brains around:
YOU CANNOT MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY. YOU WILL LET PEOPLE DOWN. YOU WILL OFFEND PEOPLE....AND IT'S OKAY!
Something must give. The 100 billion hour day required to meet the needs of everyone around you will not be met in the 24 that you have. A sister will be upset that you missed her basketball game in order to write your term paper. A church member will be upset that you have had to stop serving in 5 areas of church ministry. A friend will feel dissed because you cannot talk on the phone for 3 hours...sometimes, not at all. But what is important to realize is that people on this world do not get to decide what you are worth. God does. It is His opinion that matters, and He thinks that you are lovely. He longs for you to be able to enjoy the freedom that comes with a life resting in His perfect peace.

That is not to say that our next move should be a facebook status update proclaiming "I AM WOMAN! HERE ME ROAR! EVERYONE SHUT UP AND GET OFF MY BACK BEFORE I HAVE A MELTDOWN!" Let's simply practice setting boundaries and prioritizing our lives. Do what will provide the most satisfaction and importance in the long run. When those things are done, we can work on the little things, and do what we can. You are not Super Woman. I, for one, know that I can't handle the pressure of what I'd look like in those tights. :)