Each week I drive by a store whose name always stirs something inside me. The name of the store is Wool and Flax and the owner was very intentional in the message she wanted to convey. Proverbs 31:13, “She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.” This scripture speaks not only of the materials our woman would use, but that she does so with willing hands. To me this is powerful because it clarifies who she is and what motivates her. I believe she is willing to go the distance, and in doing so she embraces a spirit of excellence. I imagine her spirit, her mind, and her hands in agreement with her character. For this reason she becomes noteworthy as she goes forward in pursing what she sees as essential to her life, a life that is well executed. She is not afraid to push the boundaries and explore other prospects she considers cutting edge and valuable, and she does it all while keeping her personal integrity integral to her decisions. An integrity that cannot be compromised, having roots that are deeply embedded, but not in perfection or performance. She is a unique woman, a woman that does not advocate comparison, but clearly promotes individuality, creativity, and personal best.
This woman is not a figment of my imagination or of yours. She is a woman who goes after her dreams, and faces down the fear of failing even as she digs deeper, to push harder to stay the course. It is not necessarily a course that is smooth, easily marked, or well traveled, and it can be wrought with obstacles and hindrances. It is those hindrances that in the end will have made the journey clearly more tenuous, but without them she may not have achieved all that she was going after. For her the destination is personal, named specifically with her in mind, with the fulfillment of dreams that will bring her face to face with her destiny.
Yesterday I had an opportunity to hear of such a woman from one of her best friends. The friend spoke of her adventurous spirit of discovery, her strength in the mist of battling breast cancer, her love of people and cultures, and her death. She died while experiencing the exhilaration that comes from being fully awake to wondrous surroundings and beauty.
This woman, and every woman who live their life fully engaged and present leave a lasting legacy to those that know and love them, and when they are gone it is not difficult to see the lessons they taught us by the way they lived. I was honored and moved to hear from her best friend how this woman has impacted her, and now I too am part of that circle.