This is my wife’s birthday month, so I wanted to honor her with the first Hero of Faith–a Mom who became a mother to the people of Israel: Sarah.
In our day of fast food, microwaves, and e-mail, we have readily adopted the concept of having our needs met immediately. Waiting is something we struggle with now more than ever.
Sadly, this fast pace of life frequently affects our prayer life. If we see no evidence of answered prayer in a few days or weeks, many of us are ready to give up. Or we cry out, “Where are you, God?”
That’s why we should consider the life of Sarah—who waiting many years to have the desire of her heart become a reality.
Hebrews 11:11 emphasizes Sarah’s faith: “By faith even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”
The first Wednesday in February is celebrated as National Girls and Women in Sports Day—a day devoted to breaking gender stereotypes built around the sports industry. To honor the day, let’s listen to Abby Wambach: a decorated soccer champion, who scored more international goals than any other player—man or woman—in history. She won two Olympic gold medals and a FIFA World Cup championship.
After her retirement, Barnard College asked her to give a commencement speech. Barnard is a private women’s liberal arts college in New York City, founded in 1889 as a response to Columbia University’s refusal to admit women.
Wambach’s thoughts turned to a TED Talk about the wolves of Yellowstone National Park. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone after being absent for seventy years. It was a controversial decision, but rangers decided it was a risk worth taking, because the land was in trouble.
The results: The plant ecosystem regenerated. The animal ecosystem regenerated. The entire landscape changed. All because of the wolves’ presence. See what happened there? The wolves—who were feared by many to be a threat to the system—became the system’s salvation.
In the same way, women—who are feared by many to be a threat to our system—will become our society’s salvation. As Wambach put it, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. WE. ARE. THE. WOLVES. Throughout my life, my Wolfpack was my soccer team. Now, my Wolfpack is All Women Everywhere.”
The message Wambach shared with the Barnard women is this, “Women must stop following the Old Rules, which exist only to maintain the status quo. If we follow the rules we’ve always followed, the game will remain the same. Old ways of thinking will never help us build a new world. Out with the Old. In with the New. Welcome to the Wolfpack Way—8 New Rules that will change the game.”
