Written by: Lexi Hoagland<\/p>\n
Ever since high school, I have prayed God would give me a path where I can be a light in the world. I prayed that God would grant me small and large opportunities to be the person he has called me to be.<\/p>\n
On Monday, March 20, Harding asked if I would be willing to be interviewed by The New York Times with my view on feminism from a conservative Christian perspective. And there it was, a complete and utterly unexpected answer from God. This was one of his big plans for me to speak about the gospel, and I could not have been more honored and stunned at the same time.<\/p>\n
The New York Times reporter, Eilene Zimmerman, asked what feminism meant to me. Feminism to me is all about empowering people. I am proud to be a woman, so I am definitely pro-woman. But I am also pro-man. Ultimately, I am pro-people. I believe in God, and I believe God created men and women with individualized skills and attributes. I do not believe God created man to be loved any more than woman and likewise. I believe he loves us all equally, and that\u2019s what I am called to do as a woman and as a human being, love and empower people.<\/p>\n
When I was thinking about what it meant to be the \u2018ultimate woman,\u2019 I thought of Proverbs 31. Proverbs 31:10-31 talks about being a wife of noble character (I am not married \u2026. I know, and I go to Harding.) For the last year, I have striven to be a woman of noble character. I want to be the type of woman God calls me to be: someone who has full confidence in herself, a woman who believes in herself and is comfortable in believing she can achieve whatever her heart desires. I am called to be a woman who finds a greater need than herself. I am called to be a woman who is respectful, bold, diligent and hardworking.<\/p>\n
I am a triplet, the other two being boys, and I have been blessed to never feel as though I couldn\u2019t be as successful, if not more successful, than my brothers. I have dreams and visions just like them, and I am confident in the fact that I can accomplish those.<\/p>\n
I realize and see that there are issues out there that strong women are fighting for. These are issues that I am still learning about. I am concerned that some women do not feel capable of succeeding or comfortable in their own skin. I can see a divide between men and women when it comes to personal beliefs, wages and respect. I think it is important for men and women to come together and help one another out. We are called to empower one another; we are all one in the eyes of God.<\/p>\n
The interview scared me. I knew my view was going to be different than Ms. Zimmerman\u2019s. However, Eilene Zimmerman carried the interview with grace and open ears to truly hear what I had to say. At the end of the day, she is my sister and I respect her point of view. And that is an aspect of feminism: mutual respect. This has been a learning opportunity for me, and I am still hoping to learn more about feminism. I do not consider myself an expert on feminism; I am simply basing what I believe around God\u2019s word and who I am called to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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