3 Ways to be a Woman who is Determined, Independent, and Wise (based on the story of a woman who was all this and then some, to be sure!)

There’s an ancient, sacred story told of a woman who had the capacity to influence a man of power, who was adamant about her desires, who demanded the miraculous and who, in truth, offers us a pretty amazing template for how to “be” yet today.

I love her story: her determination, her opinionated-ness, her unwillingness to accept “no” for an answer, her strength, her courage, her decisiveness, her agency…

And chances are high you’ve not heard of her. Or if you did, it was a LONG time ago and definitely without the 3 points I’m about to make!

She’s called the Shunammite. The prophet she interacts with is Elisha. And the miracle she demands is her son’s resurrection. Which she gets, by the way!

Though there are so many directions I could go, I’ve chosen three takeaways worth pondering:

1) This woman constructed her own rules related to wealth, roles, and voice. She was not constrained by the common customs of the day (dependent, deferring, and silent). She was profoundly countercultural, made decisions completely independent of a man, and was intact — in and of herself — in every way.