I Am A Woman

I am a woman

Created by God

Born of a woman

Born with a purpose.

I am a woman
Begotten of God
Filled with His Spirit
Strengthened by Grace.

I do not wish to be anything less
I do not wish to be anyone else
I want to be who I am
A woman, a daughter of Zion.

I am a woman, I am wonderfully made
I am not defined by my size or height
I could be tall, short, dark, or light-skinned
But I am beautiful.

I am a woman and I am beautiful
My beauty does not come from the clothes I wear
My hairstyle
Or the shoes on my feet.

My beauty does not come from my shape;
Curvy, hourglass, or pear
For through my lifetime
My shape will go through various phases of indecisive conflicts;
Slim, fat, heavy, robust.

I am a woman and I am beautiful
My beauty comes from within
My beauty comes from my heart
My heart, the place where love resides.

I am a woman
Created by God
Born of a woman
Born with a purpose.

I am a woman
A human
I cry, I laugh
I sing, I dance.

Do not judge me when I cry
Do not call me weak or manipulative
When my eyes water
And tears stream down my face
It could be that I am happy
That joy has filled my heart
Great joy that words cannot express
I cry in expression
And not in depression
To express the words
That words fail to express.

I cry when I'm sad
Not just when I'm glad
I cry when I'm hurt or let down
Overwhelmed with pain
Struggling to stay sane
Pressed on every side
With no place to hide
I cry in expression
And not in depression
Knowing weeping endures but for a night
And my joy comes in the morning.

I am a woman
A human
I cry, I laugh
I sing, I dance.

Do not be envious when you see me laugh
Do not call me insensitive or inhuman
When I laugh
It's not because everything around me is a rainbow
My world may be upside down, inside out
Black, dark, breaking apart
But I laugh
I laugh at my challenges, my storms
My failures, my shortcomings
I laugh because
I am pressed but not crushed
Persecuted, not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed.

I laugh because I know Him who holds my tomorrow
He who says His thoughts towards me are of good and not evil
Giving me an expected end
A glorious future
Glory Hallelujah!

I am a woman
A human
I cry, I laugh
I sing, I dance.

Do not wonder when you hear me sing
Do not call me unrealistic and unsympathetic
When I sing
It's not because my voice is perfect
It's not because I'm going to a concert
I sing because I see the future
I sing my future into my present
Calling those things that are not
Calling them as though they are
Songs inspired, not retired
Words of God, His promises to me
Coming alive in the songs I sing.

I am a woman
A human
I cry, I laugh
I sing, I dance.

Do not be angry when you see me dance
Do not call me unconcerned or unkind
When I dance
It's not because I've got the steps
It's not because I've learned a move
I dance because my God is good
Though the mountains rage
And the seas roar
Yet will I praise Him
I will praise Him in a dance
My feet will move to the beat
My body will dance to the rhythm
I dance because my God is faithful
Faithful, gracious, full of mercy
I dance because faithful is He
Faithful is He who has promised
I dance because I am confident of this one thing
That He who has called me is too faithful to fail.

I am a woman
Created by God
Born of a woman
Born with a purpose.

I am
Wonderfully made
Overwhelmingly blessed
Moulded by the Potter
Adorned by Grace
Naturally beautiful.

I AM A WOMAN
THAT IS WHO I AM!
I do not wish to be anything less
I do not wish to be anyone else
I want to be who I am
A woman
A daughter of the Most High God.

Abimbola Lawuyi

8th March, 2017.