I am woman……..therefore I am strong. Childhood, marriage, children prepare us for the years we will lose it all. We grow old, sometimes in the same marriage, sometimes not. The children have been well cared for…….sacrifices made with a smile as we watched them learn to fly. Then one day, they flew away, never to return the same.

One by one the years come and go. The hands that used to hold babies are now gnarled and old. They are useful, even so, because they have been the forerunner of everything accomplished. Simple as that may be they have been first to act in any endeavor. They have been kind when needed, strong to help; slow to act in conflict, yet, ready to come to unexpected problems with grace.

Life is a gift that we are prepared for. Never think someone is having all the luck or wealth or life without grief. The day we are born we have everything we will ever need to have a good life. There is a check and balance in each of us.

I am strong. I have faced life and death and I am not afraid.

But still…..I heard our song today…..and cried.

I am woman………..

Essentially Esther