JosephCanHelp

In South Africa we are celebrating woman during the month of August and on 9 August we celebrate Woman’s Day with a public holiday.

I believe that all men know how woman effect our lives and that without them we will struggle through life. I will not endeavour to tell you about all the virtues of woman in this article as you can read this in Proverbs 31 and agree with me that our woman are all Proverbs 31 woman. Rather in today’s article I would like to celebrate and salute woman who has impressed me and also woman who has shaped my life.

I would like to pay tribute to one particular group of woman( the single mothers of Clanwilliam) who I admire and 6 women who has made a profound difference in my life and who has taught me principals and values.

1) The single mothers of Clanwilliam

I have been working/living in Clanwilliam for three years now and have come to know the community well. I have realised that a lot of the woman are single parents with some of them having more than one child. Many of them has had to endure physical, verbal and mental abuse, as well as earning low wages in this rural area and despite having lived through the harsh conditions of apartheid, these woman has persevered.
Sacrificing their own dreams, goals and ambitions they have lived their life’s for their kids. In spite of these hardships they have seen to it that their kids have proper education and today and in the future they can and will see the fruits of their sacrifices.
Many of their kids has grown up to be leaders in the community, church, on the sport fields, some of them has become engineers, accountants, ict specialist, etc.
This is truly remarkable.
To all those single mothers in Clanwilliam I say – I don’t know how you did it, but you pulled it off and even though it is on average 40 degrees in summer in Clanwilliam and therefore a dangerous thing to do, I lift my hat off to you. You are the woman we look up too and I salute you.

2) Debra Morrison

Debra is a great business woman. You can read more about her, her husband, her earlier work life and how and why she started her business on her website (http://DebraMorrison.Biz)
I met this lady through the internet and look forward to meeting her in person one day. She is a tremendous woman of God. She always uplifts and encourages me and has taught me many business principals through her websites and personal emails. She also has a prison ministry and loves God.
I believe that with the example that she sets, she will be influencing people for good and for God, for many years to come.

3) My grandmother(Ouma Wehr)

My grandma moved to be with Jesus last year (2008) but I have been fortunate to be in her company and to learn from her for such a long time. She was with me in the Congregational Church in Worcester when as a teenager I answered the call of God in my life. Although I only gave my heart to Jesus in 1999, that sermon I attended with her remains vividly in my mind and she was the one who taught me about God and life and family history and how to survive a hostile world by trusting in God. She also taught me a lot about business and stories about the businesses of her grandfather, her father’s business and about my grandfather and her business.

She was a fantastic lady who talked a lot and used her bed
(her legs could not carry her anymore and her heart became too weak ) as a pulpit and she loved to tell everyone who visited, how good her God was, what He did for her and her family and what God could do for them.

4) My Mother ( Joan Strydom)

My Mother was my best friend. She moved on to conduct the choir (music was her passion) in heaven in 1999. As I write this my tears are flowing and I struggle to see the keyboard and screen because 10 years on I still miss her so much. I could approach her with anything. She would sooth my worries, help me with finances, marriage advise, business advise and I remember so clearly how she told me one day- Bronwynne (my second name) if you give your tithe to God, He will take care of you. If only I listened to her then…….. But when you are young you think you know better than your parents and you only take some of their advice seriously later in life when life has dealt you the blows which you could have avoided, had you listened to them earlier. My mother was my confidant. When I met Patty at the end of grade 11, she was the first one I went too and I told her I met my future wife that day (5 years later my mother was the one who hold my hand while I was making a speech at me and Patty’s wedding ceremony and crying more than I was talking- Be careful I can hear you saying I am a poor little mummy’s boy!)
My mother was a pillar of strength to my Dad, sister Davina, brother Carlo, me, the community and the Kraaifontein Congregational Church and I continue to draw strength from her and her values even though she is not with us anymore.

5) My Mother in Law ( Sally Barends)

You will find many jokes about Mother –in – laws, but Sally Barends was no joke! She was a formidable woman (she moved on to live with Jesus in 2000)
From an early age she had to take care of her sister, 7  brothers and her father after her mother passed away. Later she had 11 children of her own. From her I learned to be honest in all the things you do, and to talk straight and say it as it is. I also observed how she dealt with problems. You must understand that with 11 kids there is bound to be some skirmishes in the house and to educate 11 children on only your husband’s salary during apartheid takes courage, boldness and lots of ingenious problem solving skills. She also taught me what hard work is all about and you would find her at the washing line at 5 in the morning. She also showed me how to relax (nothing could keep her away from watching LOVING, the daily soapy that used to be on our TV screens!!)

6) My wife( Patricia)

Patty or Princess as I sometimes call her is a family woman. Her whole life revolves around her family. She takes care of us, the house, the kids, me, the cars, the dogs, the finances and so I can go on. She is loving and kind and I will take up 10 pages if I have to list all her virtues, She is a woman of character who will take a stand on a subject if she feels that she has been treated unfairly. She is a principled woman and has very high values. She has taught me how to listen to others and she can immediately see when someone is false and pretending. When I face problems and don’t know what to do, she would remind me of the bigger picture and tell me to ask myself the question- Is what you are doing or about to do, benefiting the children – because that is our purpose, to leave a legacy for them. She brings me back to earth when I have lofty and unpractical ideas. She taught me how to be cautious and to be sure of something because you cannot turn back if you have made a decision. She is not a women who doubts and is very sure and forthright about the things she does. When I gave my heart to Jesus she did not blindly follow me. She told me that when she gave her heart to Jesus it would be for keeps and she will not turn back as it would be an everlasting covenant between her and God.
I praise God that this happened in 2004 and now both of us will spend eternity in heaven.
Is she a Proverbs 31 women or what!!!!! I love her so much and feel that I do not treasure and appreciate her enough. I am trying to show her how much I love her and appreciate her taking care of the kids and all the burdens of the household while I am in Clanwilliam, but I know I am failing miserably, because how can you thank a lady of her class and stature for her love and unselfish willingness to make sacrifices for her family every day?

Patricia I salute you my darling for being my wife for the past 22 years and I believe that because of you and our God, our kids are going to have many more triumphs and we will be able to say that we have run the race successfully and we are winners in GOD.

7) My daughter( Jodeè)

Jodeé is the future of womanhood. At 17 she has taught me a thing or two about time management. She is a leader amongst her peers, a school prefect, plays hockey , directs drama evenings, is the chairperson of the Interact society( a charity society at school) that reaches out to other schools charities, takes driving lessons, does promotions and marketing of product at shopping centres, and still has time for a boyfriend. In spite of all this she has been in the top 4 of her grade consistently for Xhosa and Tourism!
She is a go getter and problem solver and also a budding business woman. When she needed money to pay for her own ticket to attend the music show of Alicia Keys, she asked her mother to teach her to bake fudge. She sold this and made enough money to attend the show. She also takes photos at social and sporting events and then sells it.
She will be studying Business Science with Marketing and Tourism at UCT
next year. I say –will- because it is her goal and she will make it. Why? She has this unwavering believe that God answers her prayers. She has too many and numerous testimonies of this being true to ever doubt it. Here I am not just talking about praying for herself. Many evenings I will get a call in Clanwilliam from her and she would ask me to pray with her for this friend or that friend’s father, etc, and over the weekend when I am at home, as a family we will pray together and rejoice and say thanks to God for our prayers that He has answered once again.
I believe that she is an example of the women of the future but she is also a result of the Godly DNA placed in her by her mother, grandmothers and great grandmothers.

Ladies, I salute you for the example you have set and continue to set and believe that you have contributed immensely to the betterment of the kingdom of GOD.

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