I’m No Wonder Woman

The Perez family is a superhero home. My youngest son is Team Antman, my oldest son is torn between Spiderman and Black Panther, and my husband is Ironman all day!

As I was putting on my Wonder Woman costume in this photo, I thought about how much pressure women have today to actually be a version of this fictional character. She has special powers, impressive physical powers, and mental abilities—and on top of it all, she’s beautiful.

Although I don’t feel the need to walk around in a mini-skirt with a lasso to battle the bad guys, but you better believe the pressure to be wonderful is there. Before I know it, I’m trying to make everything a “moment” or a “memory” so my children will have stories of how grand life was way back when. I try to seek the extraordinary in the ordinary.

But do you know where that pressure comes from? I’ve come to find that it’s all a lie from the enemy to get us distracted, worn out, and miss the blessings in the mundane.

Yes, God showed us big miracles in the Bible. He parted the Red Sea just in time for the Israelites to walk across to safety. Jesus healed person after person, allowing the blind to see and the deaf to hear.

But if we only look for the big miracles, we miss all the little miracles that make up the richness of the Bible. Ruth chose to go with Naomi. Rahab hid two Israelite spies. Mary said “Let it be to me as you have said.” These were not big moments with fireworks and lights. These were small, insignificant moments by women who poured out what they had and that led to some of the greatest acts of faith and richest blessings we see in God’s story.

Sisters hear me here. God is not limited by our job, our social status, our marital status. I have been part of some of the most incredible moments in God’s story while being a widowed single mom. He uses the seemingly insignificant acts of life to weave an intricate and beautiful tapestry of His story. That text to a friend to encourage her or inviting that new woman out for coffee – these seem like small things, but God uses them in a mighty way. Just as He used the small, smooth stone in David’s sling to take down the giant, Goliath, so He uses our small acts of faith in huge ways.

SMASH Women’s Retreat
This is just a taste of what God is putting on my heart for my talk at SMASH, an annual women’s retreat. If you’ve never been, or maybe you’re on the fence about going, I beg and plead with you to come! It’s a weekend of safety, invitation, and challenge. You’ll experience four sessions with fun, real, and honest speakers and an awesome worship band that will light up the stage with incredible music all weekend! There are also plenty of opportunities for relaxation, or you can try a zip line, ride a horse, or go paintballing. Learn more and sign-up at kensingtonchurch.org/SMASH.