About Iron

My head ran away with the similarity between iron and women the other day after hearing the words "male and female" used together. I mused at the 'fe' at the beginning of the word, and wondered where the root of the word came from, and then my science background brought me to iron, and it's root as "ferrum". There's that 'fe' again.

'Fe' is the atomic symbol for iron. Iron is known for it's strength, and used in everything from car frames to bridges to handrails. All of these require integrity ~ lives are at stake if the iron doesn't deliver and remain strong.

Iron is not maintenance free however. If left out in the weather, to be beaten down by the wind and the rain and fried in the heat of the sun, iron will be overtaken by rust. Rust that not only takes away from the aesthetically pleasing aspect of the metal, but also begins to undermine the integrity of the metal. Rust eventually will lead to structural weakness, severe enough to cause a total breakdown of the iron.

As women, we are so much like iron. Strong and versatile. Tough and beautiful. And like iron, we must maintain our integrity, as certainly lives are at stake ~ most importantly the other lives within the walls of our own home.

Also like iron, we must be watchful for signs of rust in our lives. Watchful that apathy or busy-ness or willfulness doesn't crowd out our ability to respond from and to and with our spirit. We must make sure that our own needs are being met, and that we bring out the personal steel wool regularly to get rid of any little spots we might find in our lives.

The world is a lot like the harsh weather can be, able to wear us down, tempt us and freeze us and bake us, all within the course of a single day sometimes. We have to have fortified ourselves before the weather comes in order to successfully withstand all we come in contact with.

Iron is an amazing metal, one that the world would not be the same without. Like iron, we as women are amazing creatures, saved as the final creation of our loving and omniscient Heavenly Father.

I am taking a closer look at the spots of rust in my life, prayerfully discovering and being reminded of what I really need to succeed in fulfilling the purposes I am here on the earth to accomplish, and using my 'steel wool' to scrub away the distractions I can do without.