Formations of a Noble Woman Intro

FORMATIONS OF A NOBLE WOMAN

Now, what is this about? Give us a break! Does a woman need formation? What do you mean by Formations? Questions galore!

Let me attempt to answer these, and perhaps many other questions that might have flooded your mind by giving you a story:

A number of years ago, in one of the then budding African cities, a baby girl, one of a set of twins, gave her first ever cry as her head finally emerged from her mother’s womb. It seemed as though she could sense that her new environment wasn’t going to be like the seemingly, safe haven where she’d been. Probably unknown to her, she had entered into a world she would later understand as fallen.

Her loving parents would later take her and her twin sister through the rigors of parenting and growing up. She would begin to get snatches here and there of a fallen world – little fights on the playground, unceasing hunger pangs in boarding school, rebellion in teenage, the world of fantasy and daydreaming afforded from reading romantic novels and watching movies and soaps when she could… name them. Explorations and discoveries are made of this. Aren’t they?

At the peak of all these, in her teenage years, when all she dreamed about was finding “The Life” when she’d make it overseas… the US to be precise, God “interrupted” all these. During a simple prayer meeting in high school; a simple teaching, (or is it a sermonette?) by one of her Christian teachers, this girl surrendered her life to Christ. She got born again!

Now began the journey of God restoring this 17-year-old to Himself.

That’s when this young woman began to realize just how far she’d been from God; just how really dead she’d been all along. A lot needed to go. Ever been to a carpenter’s shop? Ever seen the cutting off, the sawing off, the gluing on, the smoothening, the finish… Well, it felt a little like that. So much needed to be dealt with before the Lord, her new Master now. She learnt that there are certain things she had to give up, let go of, while embracing and experiencing others if she had to keep walking this new path she had chosen. It was tough, even costly to give up some of the stuff.

Well, she took faint steps; then resolute steps; then firm steps towards the Lord she had chosen – the Lord Jesus Christ.

This baby is now a woman, wife and mother. Her name is Clara Karushi Muruga. That baby was me. Formations of a Noble Woman is a story of how the Spirit is metamorphosizing Clara (and of course countless others) into a woman that God can pick and use for His noble purposes.

It’s been several years now, since I made that life changing decision to follow Jesus Christ. It’s not been easy but it’s been worth it every step of the way. I have featured the salvation experience, not because it is the only character forming incidence but because it is what I would call the gateway experience to lasting eternal formation or transformation in character.

Recently, my husband quipped, “Why do you keep listening to other women share. Why don’t you share what God has put in your heart concerning women and womanhood?

This stopped me in my tracks. You mean I have something to say? Well, the Lord has something to say through me? If you’ve known me personally long enough, you would nod your head knowingly in seeing such a question literally stop me in my tracks. You would probably see me asking in my head: Me? You mean the Lord can use me? even me? This is a story for another day…

I am certain my husband didn’t mean that I should altogether stop listening to these women who’ve been a blessing to me. Definitely no! This blog is about formations, remember? God is forming me. Part of that formation has been triggered and facilitated as I have listened to these women! My husband was simply challenging me to trust the Lord to share with others the lessons I have learnt over the years communing with God and discipling young women.

Formations of a Noble Woman stems from the study and reflection in God’s Word and the practical outworking of the same in my life and in the lives of many other women. Let’s take a look at these two verses for instance:

“… All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. (Ruth 3:11b)

“A wife of noble character who can find…” (Prov 31:10)

Knowing how fallen the world and all that is in it is, it must be that something first of all happened, then continues to happen so that the woman described in the verse and or verses can be described as a woman of noble character. Unless by miraculous intervention, you and I know that a noble character doesn’t develop overnight.

What I have captured by the word Formations is actually the process, experiences and journey whose end is a noble woman, wife and or mother, because they are growing in character to the glory of God.

Please join me in the next blog post as I continue to answer the question of why Formations of a Noble Woman. Meanwhile, a simple, personal prayerful reflection of your journey since childhood can be a wonderful exercise that can begin to reveal areas of growth and interest; areas that need attention; areas of neglect; fears, etc. that must be addressed to help you blossom to be the noble woman God intended you to be.

Pause. Ponder. Consider!

Sincerely,

Clara