If a woman marries really young and didn’t grow up with anyone to teach her to hunt (i.e. take care of herself) this skill set is often lost or learned later in life.
-Melissa Wise (paraphrased)
This is one of the truths that came out of the Put It Out There Couch Tour.
It’s a truth I came to understand because I’m one of those who married early and didn’t learn to hunt till much later in life. My approach to life was pretty passive.
I didn’t have close access to a lot of hunters growing up. I spent a lot of time in church and formed beliefs around what I heard (and saw) and what I heard (and saw) fed passiveness. Then there was the season when I heard that if I followed this magical formula, I could get anything and everything I wanted with little effort on my part.
Then I ran into the Sovereign God … that’s a blog post for another day.
Hey, I was young and didn’t have the wherewithal to rightly divide or know to look for balance.
And for the record, there’s no blame or shade being thrown. This is how I processed what I heard and saw and as an adult had to unravel and sort out.
My goal through this post is to encourage women who never learned how to hunt i.e take care of themselves or pursue purpose. Women who are simply waiting in their lives, don’t understand the wait and are frustrated beyond belief.
I promise I understand.
The truth is you need to learn how to farm (wait on the Lord, don’t get weary in well doing) and how to hunt (take up your bed and walk, go and possess the land). You need both.
There are times where you’ll sow good deeds and those come back at the right time and bless your life. There are times you’ll be in places that vex you but it’s you who’s being cultivated so good fruit can come forth. You’ll sow into others and hope for a return.
Since we’ve successfully planted a garden, I’ve learned that farming requires a certain set of skills and knowledge. It’s not a passive activity at all. But it’s the do all you can do and hope for a harvest at harvest time. There are so many things out of your control like the amount of rain you’ll get. Too much rain is a bad thing. Then there’s too much sun and drought like conditions. All these things can impact your harvest and you simply have to pray for the best and wait and see.
Faith without works is dead
That phrase screams anything but passivity.
The sad thing is a lot of the so-called faith in action I saw was going to the car lot with subpar credit and walking off the lot with a shiny new ride with a sky-high interest rate.
Sigh.
I didn’t see the hunt up close and personal.
I didn’t learn the art of the hustle till much later in life.
I thought that if I made one or two phone calls I had done my part and God would make up the rest.
Laughable right?
Just like you need a seasoned farmer to show you how to work soil, you need someone to teach you the art of the hunt. Someone to teach you how to track, stalk and pursue your prey and come home with the spoil.
It’s the elder teaching the younger like the bible teaches.
Young girls, young men need people in their life who will teach them how to successfully sow and hunt.
That’s part of the reason This Woman Knows exist today.
It’s here to mentor and encourage women who didn’t have a Jonathan to show them how to behave in the palace or a Naomi to teach them custom and protocol.
If you’re currently waiting and frustrated, waiting and mad, waiting and disappointed, maybe it’s time to pick up a bow and arrow while you’re waiting for your crop to come in.
#ThisWomanKnows is here for you.
Lisa N. Alexander is the author and founder of This Woman Knows and What Million-Dollar Brands Know. She is an award-winning filmmaker, director, producer, and writer and is the owner of PrettyWork Creative.
