I am a woman. Over the years that term has come to be demeaned. To much of the world I am not valued. I am often treated worse than a slave and yet I am not considered to be worth as much as these prized assets.
Throughout the world it is o.k. for me to be abused. I am often misused for the sexual gratification of men with no thought taken to consider that I am a human being. I am slapped, punched and kicked. Sometimes I am stabbed, burned or chained up. Often I am killed or tortured in a horrible manner and no one knows.
My mind is constantly being bombarded with the fact that I am not good enough. The media says that I am not pretty if I don’t have a certain look or a certain weight. Therefore, I also abuse myself in order to please others. I get plastic surgery to change my face or body to conform to certain images. I shave, wax, tweeze, perm, color, and paint to achieve the “look”. Finally, I starve and exercise myself to death trying to obtain the ever-elusive appearance of beauty.
And yet no matter what I do it will never be good enough. The bombardment of negative mental pictures continues in all areas of my life. My children yell and say they don’t love me, or tell me I am not a good mom. My husband or boyfriend shouts at me because dinner was late, I spent too much money (trying to get the “look”), his shirts aren’t pressed just right, or I am not a proficient lover. My co-workers either hate me because I have achieved the “look” or not achieved it, can perform my job well or don’t know what I am doing, am a person of integrity or not. Then there is my boss who is constantly looking for something to say that pulls me down rather than build me up. Finally, society says I am a terrible mother if I work outside the home. However, the women who do work outside the home say I am worthless if I choose to stay at home with the children. Whatever I do it is never good enough.
I am a woman. I have been demeaned. I have no value. So society would have me to understand.
I am a woman. I have value. No one else knows it yet. Shhh! It’s a secret.

What kind of value? I am a helper. That is my designated role in creation. As such I have the ability to be anything that is needed at the time it is required.
I am a woman. I am a teacher, nurse, administrator, peacekeeper, music director, chauffeur, traffic cop, cook, seamstress, laundress, dishwasher, housekeeper, bookkeeper, gardener, mother, wife, friend, employee, boss, manager, activities director, travel agent, tour guide, concubine, lover, fashion consultant, personal assistant and all purpose glue. I fulfill several of these roles at one time in any given moment.
I am a woman. I am valuable. I am beautiful. I come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Each combination of size, shape and color makes me unique. Whether small or large, tall or short, with long hair or short hair, fashionable or unfashionable I am beautiful. My hair may be black, brown, red, blond, any shade in between or even gray with age. I may have blue, green, hazel, violet or even brown eyes. My skin may be olive, white as milk, tan, golden, dark brown or any of the tones in between yet I am still beautiful. In other words, no matter what my size, my age, my shape, my race or natural coloring I am uniquely beautiful.
I am a woman. I am your helper. What do you need me to be? Whatever it is I have the ability to be what you need at the time you need it. There are some things however I will not be. I am not your doormat. Nor am I your punching bag. I will not stand for verbal abuse. The media will not dictate to me the standard of beauty I must live up to in order to be accepted.
The surprising thing is that as I live out the reality of the knowledge of who I am, I finally achieve that quality of beauty I kept looking for through changing my outer appearance. Why? I know who I am. I have value. Armed with that knowledge I stand straighter almost regally. I carry myself with grace and a calm assurance of my personhood. An inner confidence in my abilities helps me to relate to others with self-assurance. I can risk fully loving because I now love myself enough to know what real love is and is not. As a result I am not afraid to lovingly let you know those times when you are not showing me love. My face softens as the strain of pleasing everyone else weakens. The sheer joy of just being me in all my uniqueness radiates from within leaving the mark of beauty that no make-up, hairstyle, clothing or plastic surgery can duplicate.
I am a woman. I know who I am and what I was created to be. As such I will no longer lie to myself nor will I accept your lies about me. I am one who gives assistance. I contribute to the well-being of mankind. I promote the success of humanity. I give relief to those in distress. I alleviate problems and cure what ails you. I improve the quality of life. I benefit the lives of everyone around me. I am able to prevent catastrophe from occurring and change the direction of the circumstances of life.
Why? Because I am a woman — taken from man — created to be his helper. I can be gentle and loving not out of weakness but out of great strength which I choose to control. I know who I am. Because I know who I am I can have a strong backbone and not be intimidating. I can apply the wisdom of this truth to all areas of my life. My relationships will be stronger, my work easier, and my life sweeter.
I am a woman. I am life. I am love. I am a woman.