There is just no holding some women back from what they need to do. When they get their mind made up to tackle a problem, change a situation or make a difference in someone else’s life, there’s no stopping them. Like my friend, Cathy, who has decided to run for political office for the first time in her life at age sixty. Her children are grown, healthy, and productive, her husband has a satisfying career and is probably eyeing his retirement, she has two grandchildren, a large circle of friends, a lovely home, and a private pilot’s license. In essence, a full life. So why is she running for public office?
She doesn’t have to do this ... she could kick back and relax ... she doesn’t need to add stomping, speeches and stress to her life. While we are fairly new friends, I know enough about the kind of woman she is to know that she absolutely does have to do this.
She is running against a Goliath—a native son serving his fifteenth term—and feels the need enter the battle to change our state’s political landscape. I wonder how she will fare against someone with impenetrable connections and a sizable war chest? Someone who probably doesn’t see her as a threat because she’s new to the local political arena? How will she get her voice and message heard to win an election?
Probably the way thousands of women who face obstacles and fearful circumstances in their everyday lives handle it. Head on. Knowing the action that needs to be taken — against the Goliaths of their worlds — to fight a disease, protect a child, stand up for an inequity. For my friend, it’s to campaign against an incumbent whose record and platform she believes isn’t in the best interest for people struggling in a suffocating economy.
The Cathys of this world don’t conquer their foes with weapons they find cumbersome and unfamiliar. They do the right thing with the unique skills and gifts and talents they’ve been given. They are victorious because they use a slingshot filled with their values, commitment, integrity, determination and dedication. They don’t take no for an answer whether they are battling in an election, a hospital room, a classroom, a courtroom, or their own home. They aim their slingshot and hurl their ‘stones’ at their Goliath’s weakest spot.
And that’s how they win their battles.
