MEET CLAUDIA
AAIV UW
What has God shown you over the course of this past year?
This year, God’s really revealed his love for WOMEN to me. Over the summer, I studied all of Jesus’s interactions with women, which was so powerful. We all know that Jesus loves everyone and had a very special relationship with his disciples, but we tend to gloss over the tender, unique, and beautiful interactions he had with women. Time and time again, Jesus went to broken women: women who were adulterous, prostitutes, foreign, bleeding, cheating, hurting etc. and he EMPOWERED them. He set them apart, called them by name, and offered them something so much greater than what the world and man had given them. He offered them a place in HIS kingdom, where there would be no room for brokenness and tears. When a woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfume, Jesus states that what SHE did will be remembered when the gospel is preached throughout the world. When the disciples peaced out after Jesus got arrested, the women stayed, and watched as the horrible crucifixion of their King took place. They never left His side. And when He rose again, they were the first people in the world to receive the GOOD news that is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and were commissioned to GO.
THIS is the kind of woman I want to be and what I want to push the powerful women in my life towards. I want to be so close to the heart of Jesus. Being able to learn that Jesus loves and empowers me so uniquely in who He’s created me to be has been so healing to the brokenness in my life. I put so much of my self-worth and identity in what others think of me, and hide my insecurities and past hurts so deep that I don’t think anyone will notice. I think I’m way stronger than I actually am and I continuously get wrecked when God calls me to give up my own fake strength and allow Him to empower me with His spirit. The more I walk with Jesus and realize that I’m seriously scum and so undeserving of His love, the more He affirms me in my identity as His beloved daughter, and that’s SO crazy hahaha.