Holly Wagner - Warrior Chicks: Rising Strong When Life Wants to Take You Down

I have always been told, You have to choose your battles. This is probably good advice in marriage and parentinghowever, some battles Ive had to fight, I did not choose.

They chose me.

I did not choose to battle cancer.

But I knew that in order to survive it, I had to fight.

There is a verse in Proverbs 31 that used to annoy me.

It said that I had to rise while it is yet night. What?

I do my best sleeping while it is yet night, dont you?

But I found out that verse has more to say than just the time of day you get up. It has everything to do with being a woman who rises in the midst of hard times. When darkness and chaos abound, the woman, the warrior you rise.

I think our world is looking and waiting for a company of people who will rise in the midst of hard times. It would be so much easier to sit, to give in, to give up.

I know.

We have all felt like that.

We cant make the mistake of thinking that we are living in peacetime. We are not civilians.

We are either a casualty or a warrior.

Choose.

But how about if together, we decide to be those women who rise? I will if you will.

As a nation, we may not have wanted to enter the fight against terrorism, and whether or not you agree with the methods our country is using, we can probably all agree that it is a battle worth fighting.

You and I may or may not face actual invaders into our homeland, but we will all face battles. Whether we ever wear camouflage or not, being warriors is in our DNA. And the better we are at being warriors, the more equipped we will be at winning the battles we have been destined to win from all eternity.

Did you enlist in this battle... or were you drafted?

Soldier is a position.

Warrior is an attitude...

Benjamin Martin, in the movie The Patriot, wanted nothing more to do with battles.

He had seen enough bloodshed in his life.

He just wanted a simple life.

He wanted to live in peace with his family. (Dont we all?)

He changed his mind and entered the American Revolution when his son was killed and his home burned down.

The cause, which had been big and impersonal, now became personal. So he entered the war. He realized that some things are worth fighting for.

He enlisted.

My friend knew that there were thousands of unwanted babies dying of AIDS. It broke her heart.

She kept waiting for someone to do something.

She waited.

The need was so great.

Who would help?

She waited.

She heard a voice from heaven: You help.

So she did.

She started orphanages to take them in.

She enlisted.

I know the tragedy cancer brings.

It knows no age restrictions.

It makes no distinctions based on ethnicity.

I knew it had killed millions and fighting it was certainly a worthy cause to financially support. I had just never entered the battle, not until it touched my life.

Only then did I walk to raise money.

Only then did I begin educating myself on health and nutrition.

Only then did I directly start influencing the people in my world to make lifestyle and health changes.

Only then did I consume massive quantities of wheatgrass and kombucha. (Dont ask.)

The war had touched me personally, so I became a warrior.

I was drafted.

Are you facing a disintegrating marriage?

Are you worried about the decisions your teenager is making?

Are you losing the battle of faith?

Does the plight of the orphaned children in Africa touch you?

Are you wondering if you will ever get married?

Are you angered over the plight of young girls who are kidnapped into the sex trade?

Are you uncertain about your career direction?

Does the unwed, pregnant teenager move you with compassion?

Is your health in crisis?

Has your heart been broken?

Hello, soldier.

Welcome to life as a warrior.