Women.

I come from a line of strong, loyal, hardworking, Godly women.
My Omi's husband was forcibly removed from their home in the middle of the night and executed, leaving her with two-year-old twins and a 9 year old son. She was on her own in a hostile land, so she and her sisters, took their children, while World War 2 in all it's gore and ugliness exploded around them, and started walking to Canada.

It took about 10 years.
She arrived in Manitoba with a teen son, a pair of almost-teen twins, no ability to speak English, during the worst winter on record when most farming families were struggling financially due to harvest hardships.  Her marketable skill? She knew how to work hard.  So she did. When she arrived in Vancouver, 5 years later, she started cleaning the big houses on the West Side. And once she retired? She volunteered every single day, until she was no longer able, sewing blankets in the back room at her local MCC Thrift Store.

She was committed to her church, to prayer and to serving her family. I remember as a young girl, staying with her for an overnighter and watching her kneel by the side of her bed, in her billowy white cotton nightgown, and her thin, grey, waist-length hair loose from it's usual braided bun, praying desperately, in German (the Holy language) to the God she trusted her life with. I also remember her babysitting us on Friday nights when we were little, and when we were older, she'd come to the house, park herself at the ironing board then iron, mend, and tend to our clothes. When we went on holidays, she'd stay at the farm, feed the cows, look after yard and deep clean the house.

She was tiny (5 feet tall? Maybe 90 pounds?) but fierce. When she poked me with her finger to make a point about something - her point was felt. She was passionate about ensuring that her grandchildren would know and worship the God who protected, delivered and loved her. And once she had great-grandchildren, that was her prayer for them as well.

Omi and Max

Omi, dad and Drew

Because of her sacrifices and because of the risks she took, her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have lived blessed lives in Canada/England/America/Germany.

This tiny woman.
This tiny, determined, strong, trusting, hope-filled, woman of faith, made her way half-way around the world in order to offer her young children a better life.

Because of that, I am here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Today was International Woman's Day.
I come from a long line of hardworking, loyal, family-loving, church-going, God-fearing women who believed they were worthy and valuable because the God of the Universe created them uniquely for a divine purpose.

That's something, I guess.



Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Legacy of faith from all my ancestors, on both sides of the family.
2. The strong, kind, smart, brave, confident young women that my boys have fallen in love with.
3. This life.

xo