8 March 2023 | Becici, Montenegro [Karen Holford]<\/p>\n
In a specially created prayer for International Women’s day, Karen Holford, Women’s Ministry Director for the Trans-European Division, brings to mind the mix of experiences women face daily.<\/p>\n
Today, on this International Women\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p>\n we come to praise you God,<\/p>\n For the wonderful ways in which you father us and mother us.<\/p>\n We praise you for your strength and your gentleness,<\/p>\n Your provision and your protection,<\/p>\n Your power and your mercy.<\/p>\n We praise you for creating women who reflect so many facets of your image.<\/strong><\/p>\n And we thank you for the wise and wonderful gifts<\/p>\n that women bring to this world<\/p>\n Through their compassion and their creativity.<\/p>\n We pray for the baby girls around the world who will be born this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n May they be welcomed into families with joyful faces and loving arms,<\/p>\n And not be rejected, discarded, and abused because they are not boys.<\/p>\n May they have mothers who hold them close to their heart<\/p>\n and tell them they are beloved<\/p>\n And beautiful.<\/p>\n We pray for the school-age girls around the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n May they be allowed to study safely<\/p>\n May they be encouraged to use their gifts and follow their dreams.<\/p>\n May they have teachers that expand their horizons and enrich their potential<\/p>\n And may they never be told that any subject they want to study<\/p>\n is only for the boys.<\/p>\n We pray for the teenage girls around the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n May they know that they are exquisite and precious.<\/p>\n May they not compare themselves to malnourished models and airbrushed actresses.<\/p>\n May they be treated with care and respect and be allowed to make their own choices.<\/p>\n May they have protectors and mentors and inspirers who will guide them into greatness.<\/p>\n We pray for the young women emerging into adulthood.<\/strong><\/p>\n May they find husbands that love them, and are committed to them.<\/p>\n husbands that fight for<\/em> them, and not with<\/em> them or against<\/em> them,<\/p>\n May they birth and love a new generation of respectful boys and courageous girls<\/p>\n who know who to love and empower each other.<\/p>\n May they have friends and family who replenish their energy and their spirit<\/p>\n when their capacity to nurture has been depleted by night feeds,<\/p>\n teething pain and sleep deprivation.<\/p>\n We pray for the women who are facing abuse,<\/strong><\/p>\n war, isolation, illness, tragedies, and challenges.<\/p>\n May we reach out to them with love and generosity.<\/p>\n May we comfort their suffering and tears<\/p>\n May we stand by them when everything in the world seems to be against them<\/p>\n May we join together, encourage each other, break glass ceilings and change the world.<\/p>\n We pray for the older women around the world<\/strong><\/p>\n May they share love and wisdom and be joyfully confident in who they have become.<\/p>\n May they share your love in rich and deeper ways<\/p>\n From the well of their own beloved hearts<\/p>\n May they reach out to the younger ones who are bewildered<\/p>\n And care for their elders who are confused.<\/p>\n May each woman experience that everything they do for others,<\/strong><\/p>\n The shopping, the cleaning, the water-carrying, the lullaby, the laundry,<\/p>\n The email, the spreadsheet, the research project, the brain surgery, and the work of art,<\/p>\n Is a gift of love to you.<\/p>\n And even if no one else ever notices it,<\/p>\n Or expresses gratitude for it.<\/p>\n You do, and it brings joy to your heart.<\/p>\n Because every woman is a precious princess<\/strong><\/p>\n In your kingdom<\/p>\n And one day, whatever she has had to endure on this earth,<\/p>\n you will comfort as you wipe away all her tears with your loving hand<\/p>\n and hug her close to your heart.<\/p>\n And whatever she has had to live without on this earth,<\/p>\n We know you will restore a million times in the earth made new.<\/p>\n We praise you for women, for your love and compassion for them and for each one of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n