The battle is in the mind.
This writing may seem at times to come from a religious stand point and if it does, so be it, because the truth of the matter is, in practically every way that we as women struggle, the battle actually takes place in the mind.
The word of God speaks of the battle not being ours but being the Lords, yet daily we take on this fight in so many, many ways.
Women face a myriad of issues each day from what others think of how we dress, style our hair and walk, to the name of the maker on the purse we carry, to how we raise our children, down to the colors used in our PowerPoint presentation in the board room.
It's all a mental battle, also commonly called "game".
Even on the street, for those of us that are single and still have to brave the world of dating or even be in an arena of meeting possible suitors, we must, "keep up on game", the battle of the mind, what a shame! The battle is in the mind.
If you take a moment and speak with a woman of today you will find that she on average has an unbelievable balance going on, her game plan if you will a plan of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
She is, and has a piece of herself in all three at the same time.
What happened yesterday? Does she need to do anything about it today? What's going on today? Handle it girl! "Ok, now, on tomorrow this and that has got to be done and paid, and he needs this, and she needs that," WOW! And all this is being thought about while she is at work, all handled! The battle is in the mind but remember it's really not ours to fight.
I was speaking to a small group of women recently and we spoke about our concerns for women's minds and how the issues faced today and those faced by our grandmothers and great grandmothers are very different, yet the strength it will take to survive is very much the same.
While the women of today possess an ability to juggle a household, and career, what about when catastrophe strikes, and the finely tuned schedule falls apart? They just don't seem to have what it takes to survive the real battle.
The battle which takes place in the core, in the mind, the place where the repercussions of life's catastrophes live and wreak havoc.
The one where jobs are lost, houses and cars are lost, husbands walk out, kids go buck wild, and bills are due past due and turned off.
You've prayed and cried all you know how and it still doesn't seem to work.
You go to church and it still doesn't seem to help, you talk to your girls and it still doesn't seem to help.
You write in your little journal and it still doesn't help.
You take your nerve pills and you get your massage and you go shopping, and you take your bath, and you do all you can, and it still doesn't work!!! THE BATTLE IS IN THE MIND.
But the battle is not yours saith the Lord.
What works? Grandmoma and great grandmoma called on Jesus and they used Godly wisdom and prayer to make it through adversity and struggle.
They knew who, and whom they belonged to, and believed in and they stood strong on the word of God, they quickly wiped away every tear that dare to fall and they kept it moving, there were no nerve pills and massages! They knew that it was "game".
A trick of the enemy to make us believe that we can't make it, we can't take it and that who and what God has said we are and will be is a lie.
Sistas, I beg to differ, the devil is a lie! If we just stop a minute and take a look at the track record...
I guess what I'm saying is that the price paid by our sistas before us was much, much deeper than we will ever be able to tap into.
A debt we will never, ever be able to repay, but what we can do is each and every one of us, every sista, of every color and creed, is be, and teach our daughters that the battle is in the mind.
Strengthen our minds; strengthen our hearts, drawing them closer to our Creator.
Strengthen our bonds to one another.
We are our sistas keeper! Stop falling for everything, and start standing for something.
Enough momas and grandmomas got beat, and raped and hung and misused.
We are smart, strong, beautiful sistas.
Enough is enough.
Stop looking at each other like you are strangers; lend a sista a hand if you see her down.
Stop thinking that you are above her, pull her up! It may just be you down there next time.
We are all in this together, this journey through life, through womanhood.