A Women Who Can

a poem by Jackie Dove-Miller

I want to be a woman who can;
One who can go on after the pain,
Of being knocked down
Again and again;
One who can do the work after every hurt
To guarantee spiritual growth.
A woman who can get the valley’s lesson
So that I won’t have to spend time guessing
What God wants me, in my broken state, to see
And so I won’t have to claw my way out of that
same dark valley
More than once.

I want to be a woman who can take action.
Who knows what she wants and goes after it
Not wasting any more time waiting for things to happen
To me, around me, in spite of me.

I want to be a woman who can.
One who can see the positive
and recognize that, “Though weeping endures for a night…”
Much Joy can come with the light.
And though I am a woman who stumbles,
I can stop my fall
By taking one small forward step
Knowing that each tread takes me closer
To my sunrise
And the surprise of a new day.

I want to be a woman who can
Understand that some doors much close
And block my way
In order to still my ego,
Teaching me to “Let go, and let God”
Do His work in me.
And making me grateful that
“Things work together for good.”
So, each valley and each hill I can count as God’s will
To get me closer to spirit, and in that place,
Feel Him freeing me to be the person He wants me to be.

I want to be a woman who can
love herself, flaws and all.
Recognizing that perfection belongs only to God
And in humility, be at peace with me as His creation.
Then, I can be a woman who can
Release the past and move forward,
Who can forgive my shortcomings and my excesses,
My bad decisions and wrong turns
And create a positive vision for my future.