When I was five years old, I skipped kindergarten. To my horror, I was placed in a foreign classroom and overwhelmed by my new freedoms as a 1st grader. Our elaborate desks had built-in shelves where we stored our green math workbooks. Seared in my mind is the fateful day when I gripped a handful of markers and built up the courage to scribble all over my own workbook, and those of my classmates, obliterating the arithmetic-filled pages.
Aren’t those memories the worst? Even the most innocent moments of lapsed judgment come back to haunt me on random car rides or as I am trying to fall asleep. All these years later, it astonishes me that I have let those moments develop and prolong such a deep insecurity, that I am unbearably dumb or naive. Truthfully, it is the reason I have always winced at anyone referring to me as “wise.” Wisdom feels reserved for men who drink black coffee or read for fun, and I just feel marked by years of five-year-old-Sarah moments.
"He has poured her forth upon all his works,
upon every living thing according to his bounty;
he has lavished her upon his friends" (Sirach 1:9-10).
Sisters, our God has poured wisdom upon us. He has lavished us with wisdom, all because we fit one criteria: we are His beloved creation. My many moments of feeling dumb or naive fall away when I anchor myself in the knowledge that I am loved by Wisdom, Himself. He is the Father Who knows best and still chooses us every time. In perfect knowledge, He shares His life with us, to the point of death on the Cross.
What would our lives look like if we walked in the confidence that we are women empowered by the wisdom of God? In what areas of our life would we start to choose Truth?
Pray with me: Father, You created us in perfect wisdom. May we adopt Your will for our lives as women and be animated by the gifts You share with us.
Get to know this Doctor of the Church and her wisdom during a difficult time in the Church.
Sarah Elizabeth is a politics pre-law major at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Born and raised in Arizona, she finds great joy in mountains, lattes, American history, and the piano. She is constantly discovering Christ's wild love in the little things.
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