Friday, July 6, 2018

Appreciating Feminine Freedom Fighters


By: Topher
                Independence Day has come and gone.  Grandiose firework displays have filled your sight.  Delicious grilled meats have filled you belly.  Family & friends have filled your memories.  Now is a good time to ask the question, “What has filled your gratitude?” 
                In the midst of July 4th busyness, we often forget to spend time in gratitude for the freedom we’ve been given.  Here are two of nine women I’ve been studying that had a profound impact on our freedom in America and in Christ.  Study them and thank God for female freedom fighters. 
Priscilla, the wife of Aquilla, is mentioned 7 times in the Bible.  Five times she is mentioned before her husband, which usually denotes priority, authority, or focus.  After living in Rome, she traveled with Aquilla & Paul to Ephesus to encourage the fledgling church.  In total, Paul lived with Priscilla & Aquilla for 18 months.  In Acts 18:26, she is mentioned first again when they took aside an eloquent & educated preacher named Apollos and “explained to him the way of God more accurately.”  Apollos following would later be compared to Paul (1 Cor 3:4) and I suspect he may have been the true author of the wonderfully deep book of Hebrews.  Thank God for Priscilla who, along with her husband, helped further the freedom given in Jesus Christ in the spiritual battle against sin & darkness.
Molly Ludwig Hays may be often known by a different name, Molly Pitcher.  Folklore has it that in June 1778, she scanned the battlefield looking for her husband John as his regiment of Colonial soldiers under George Stirling withstood the forces of dreaded imperial general Clinton. Cannon blasts shook the ground on this scorching hot day as she spotted her husband working the ramrod of a colonial cannon.  As she repeatedly carried her pitcher of water from creek to soldiers, the wounded would yell, “Molly, PITCHER!”  Then, she spotted the signs of heatstroke when John slumped over his cannon, crumpling before the approaching redcoats.  Molly jumped up to “man” the cannon in her husband’s stead, thus aiding General Stirling in the battle and preserving the colonial push for freedom in the Revolutionary War.  General George Washington personally commended her bravery and post-war congress voted to pay her $40 annually for the rest of her life for her services in the Revolutionary War.  Thank God for Molly who, along with her husband, helped further the freedom given in the Revolutionary War in the battle against imperialism.
Neither Priscilla nor Molly were looking for fame when they served in their respective battles.  Instead, they were simply serving with their husbands in marvelous ways.  May we remember, appreciate, and model our lives after these feminine freedom fighters.
“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” – Proverbs 31:10