day no. 16,440: the wrong kind of strong

Proverbs 31:17

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

Feminine strength is a virtue, but it is not the same as masculine strength. It flexes in different ways. It is not the broad-shouldered ability to bear up under physical weight, but the diligent-armed ability to bear up under myriad tasks. 

Ladies, do not be the wrong kind of strong. You were not meant to have a six pack and ripped forearms. You were not made to bench press your way to success. You were not made to be a fitness model. You were not designed to be spent like a man. You were not meant to live below a certain percentage of body fat. You were not made to chase gains at the gym.

The amount of time and energy required to acquire those things is time away from what ought to be your priorities. You cannot learn to be a lover of husbands and children by spending the best of your strength on Crossfit and cardio. You cannot be strong for your tasks and you will never be as strong as a man is for his.

Additionally, that type of fit often ends or disrupts the menstrual cycle. Nothing could be less feminine then eliminating your period for the sake of six-pack. The wrong kind of strong keeps your from being or doing what your strength was uniquely made for.

Women were not meant to be hard. They were made to be soft. Men were made to be hard. They were not made to be soft. Hard women are in sin just as soft men are. Hardness and softness here not being limited merely to the musculature of one's body, but extended as a principle to the infrastructure of the entire person exhibited.

So, ladies: give up on the wrong kind of strong. Stop aspiring to fruitlessness. Stop envying those who looks like they've never had children. Stop spending your time wearing your underwear in public and admiring those who look better than you doing it. Stop pursuing the wrong kind of strong. It is a glaring weakness and the more you chase it, the harder it is for you to see it. Your vision for femininity is shrinking as your biceps are growing. Stop being a gym rat and become a home insteader.