a life well lived
'To be inspirational you don't have to save lives or win medals.
'I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things: volunteers, [caregivers], community [organizers] and good [neighbors]; unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special.
'They are an inspiration to those who know them.'
Queen Elizabeth II
Princess Elizabeth was never expected to be the Queen of The United Kingdom (UK), let alone the longest serving monarch in UK history. That all changed when her uncle unexpectedly quit the throne, and her father, the second son of King George V, suddenly and unexpectedly became king.
Queen Elizabeth wasn’t born in a palace or a castle. She was born in a house in Mayfair to her parents the Duke and Duchess of York. Ten years later they became king and queen. She was homeschooled and gave her first public speech at 14 during WWII.
Even in her youth she showed a maturity and wisdom beyond her years, telling the misplaced children of war, "When peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place." I think it is safe to say, she lived up to those words to the best of her ability.”
In 1945 she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during the war. She trained as a driver and drove a military truck and was often referred to by her number, 230873 while she served. Two years after the war she married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, and like all other brides at that time she had to collect clothing ration coupons for her dress.
I could go on and on telling her story, and the fascinating things about her time spent here on earth, but my point is less about telling her story, (you can read that anywhere, or watch it on Netflix) and more about using her life as an example overall.
It’s about spotlighting the maturity and selflessness of this young girl who was never expected to have to take on such a monumental role in the prime of her youth, something the majority of us cannot even begin to relate to, and share some key takeaways for women today, especially young girls.
I hope to point out key qualities that I wish when I was a young woman, older women (or men) would have pointed out to me or that I had been wise enough to discern for my self. In return perhaps you the reader will use these thoughts to build up and to encourage the younger women in your life. Without going off on a tangent, I have a deep frustration with the fact that women do not build one another up the way we should.
Oh, we talk a good talk for sure! There’s A LOT of hype out there about it, especially with the women’s libbers, and I personally know many of those loud voices shouting about it in the streets, but in the trenches, in corporate America, in the churches, in our schools, and in our communities, many of those very same women do nothing to build up other women or guide and mentor younger women.
Young ladies need to know this truth!!!
photo by Tikkho Maciel @tikkho
“The world needs strong women. Women who will lift and build others, who will love and be loved. Women who live bravely, both tender and fierce. Women of indomitable will.” ~Amy Tenney
You need a modern-day example? A modern-day hero? Look to Queen Elizabeth II. You may look at her and see an old women, but she was once young, and had a young woman’s desires just like all of us. I would be willing to bet she struggled with her selfish wants and desires, the ways of this world likely telling her to walk away, “you be you,” who cares about tradition, that’s old school, life is different today, you are free to be who you want to be, but she chose tradition. She chose selflessness.
She chose what people today call weakness, or surrender. She put others before self, but what we should see now, looking back on her reign, is anything but weakness. She was a woman of tremendous strength and character. She was anything but a submissive woman who was dominated and had no opinions or thoughts of her own. Quite the opposite in fact. She was a leader, in a male dominated world, but she didn’t have to wear a pink vagina hat, march in the streets, and shout in people’s faces to prove it or to have respect.
I believe we are living in a time where God is calling women to step up and lead.
I believe Godly women have more to share to the younger generations than any other time in history. We have never seen such high suicide rates, addiction rates, and depression rates. Young women need heroes who they know, not someone from social media or pop-culture, not a detached figment of the imagination. They need someone with skin on, a real live person.
Here are ten lessons I take away from the life of Queen Elizabeth II, a life well lived, and lessons I want to pass on to the younger women today who are looking for a hero, someone they can aspire to be in a world that is full of empty promises and whitewashed tombs.
Queen Elizabeth II…
1. Lived for something bigger than herself! This world wants you to think it’s all about you or your family. Those things are important, but we are called to live for so much more. She had a sense of purpose, something so much bigger than her. She lived for her country.
2. Served others. She was known for saying that serving others was, “as much as anything … to help me put my own worries into perspective.”
3. Was a humble leader. Leadership wasn’t about power to her. It was about humility and growth. "I know of no single formula for success. But over the years, I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm, and their inspiration to work together."
4. Loved and leaned on her husband and counted on him for strength. It doesn’t mean you are not a strong, independent woman. The Queen about her husband, "He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know."
5. Knew in order to have self-control and willpower, which were huge strengths of hers, she knew she had to make time to step-away. In order to have willpower, you do have to step away and replenish your strength. It’s much like a battery that requires recharging.
6. Knew there was a place for play in life, no matter the age.
7. Kept her faith. She knew there is a higher power, and at the end of the day, she would lay it all at the foot of the cross.
8. Was open to change. “Change has become a constant. The way we embrace it defines our future.”
9. Proved that hard work and humility earn respect. “On her 21st birthday, when she was just a Princess, she pledged her commitment to duty, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.” In that moment she pledged her life to a single purpose, and she never deviated from it.” ( the gospel coalition-queen-elizabeth)
10. The Queen was the epitome of grace and class. "Perhaps we make too much of what is wrong and too little of what is right. The trouble with gloom is that it feeds upon itself and depression causes more depression."
Young women need to know, Queen Elizabeth II was a force to reckoned with, but she didn’t wield her power in ways that many powerful women today do. She was a picture of grace and strength, and she can be a role model to look up to. You don’t have to be royalty to follow her example.
"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."
Proverbs 31:25
Something to Consider: Who are the young women you can influence? How are you speaking into the lives of young women today who are trying to find their way in a world that does not properly value women? What can you do to do your part in mentoring young women today? If you are a young woman reading this, who can you ask to mentor and guide you?
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*All photos of Queen Elizabeth II purchased from Shutterstock.
