Busy Bee

While it is true that our second child, Deborah, is compassionate like her sister, I have been thinking about how she too has lived up to her biblical name. The account of Ruth is a love story. But the narrative about Deborah is one of battle and victory by a woman.

The name Deborah means bee, as in busy. In that sense, from birth and even before, our Deborah has always been busy. I was commenting to my grandson recently that the last weeks I was carrying her, I was certain that she was building a spaceship, complete with launch pad and scaffolding.

The Deborah of the Bible, though little known, was the greatest judge, second only to Gideon and the only woman judge. Her job description involved being the leader and often the military commander too. Her real claim to fame came when the enemy army was advancing on the Israelites. She consented to go with the army but let it be known that if she did, the victory would be won by a woman, as it was. A woman named Jael, drove a tent peg into the head of the sleeping enemy commander.

Now our Deboran has not been the leader of a nation, but she does have some of the qualities of her namesake. She is bold and often dares to question the wrongs in her culture, especially as it relates to women's issues. Her discerning spirit allows her to see beyond the masks people wear to their real self and needs. She had caused me, too, to look past the surface with people, particularly with folk that I would not normally come in contact with or be drawn to. She is not hesitant to see me as more than her Mother. She views me, at times, as another woman with needs and feelings. She has challenged the socks off of me on more than one occasion, not the least of which is this blog itself.