Women familiar with or living the teachings of Fascinating Womanhood know about the character of a Fascinating Woman which is made-up of the following traits:

1. Self-Mastery – The keys of which are having self-worth, fasting and prayer, training the will, and being determined.

2. Unselfishness

3. Charity – Which includes a compassion for others, perceiving their needs, and if necessary, sacrificing for them.

4. Humility

5. Responsibility

6. Diligence

7. Patience – This includes patience with people, patience with duties, and patience with desires, and having the patience to look towards “The Brighter Day” (this means having dealing with the “rainy days of life” – more about this can be found by clicking here).

8. Moral Courage

9. Honesty

and

10. Chastity

        When a wife has and lives all of these qualities, her husband (and often others who really know her) can’t help but to mentally place her on a pedestal.  She is a woman of strength, honour, dignity, and goodness to look up to; she is a refuge to so many who need such a divinely inspired, inspirational woman.  To see her fall from this pedestal is so hurtful to feelings, can cause such a sense of loss of hope and goodness, and can really make one hurt so badly for the woman who falls; the whole experience is such a loss to everyone involved.  This isn’t to say that such a fall is the end of the world or a relationship, but that it is damage that needs to be repaired as quickly and fully as possible, and in all actuality, most often will take much time to repair, and if this reparation isn’t really devoted to, can never be fully restored.

        A woman who falls from her pedestal can, with humility, strength, and devotion, mature from the experience and bring out facets in her that weren’t fully seen before, thus the love between her and her husband can grow stronger in ways that it hadn’t; yet still, damage is damage and can take a whole lot to repair and restore, so it’s best to devote oneself to reaching pedestal status and continue to love ourselves and others enough to stay there without falling, without fail - and in so doing, be the strength of a Godly woman that the world so desperately needs.

        An excellent movie example of the affects of falling from one’s pedestal can be found in the 1996 version of the movie Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow (more information on it can be found at this link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116191/).  This movie is chosen because it contains an excellent example of a woman falling from her pedestal in her love’s eyes.

        I won’t spoil the movie by revealing information about the pedestal falling scene, but believe each of you will see it when it happens; how a man who holds a woman in such high regards can have his image of her shattered by such a fall, and how a woman in love will sense this, pick-up the pieces, and try her best to regain footing not only for the man she loves, but for the love of herself and others, as well. Such love, such regard for a woman who a man senses is in so many ways like an angel on earth, is edifying, and makes the man, the woman he loves, and our world better. A chivalrous man will not accept a woman’s fall from her pedestal and do nothing about it, or just as bad, be destructive to her over it – he will be strong, firm, and chivalrous, believing in her better side and patiently waiting for it to return bigger, better, and stronger than ever. This is love that grows.

This Week’s Assignment…

        If you are a woman who lives the teachings of FW, this week’s assignment is to obtain a copy of the aforementioned version of the movie Emma (there are other versions, but I’ve not seen them and don’t know how they relate the scene mentioned – they could represent it differently and the meaning of this lesson could be lost to a degree), if possible, and make a date with yourself (and an older daughter, if you’d like) to watch it this week.  It can really deepen the teachings from FW on character and broaden your insight about its worth to the love of your life, yourself, and others.  After watching it, re-read the chapter of FW about worthy character and think about its importance in your life and in the lives of the ones you love and know. 

        If you haven’t read or really applied the teachings of Fascinating Womanhood, or would like to learn about acquiring the character traits mentioned, get a copy of the 2007 (the latest) edition, read it, apply the teachings, and then come back to this lesson or watch it in conjunction with reading chapter sixteen “A Worthy Character”. 

        If you have been a Fascinating Woman and have fallen from your pedestal, watch this movie and prayerfully devote yourself to getting back on your pedestal, take the action needed this week to do this.  If you find that you’ve really slipped far from the teachings, you may need to start at the beginning of the book and work your way through it; taking a live or online Fascinating Womanhood course can be very helpful in getting back on track with its teachings, too.

        Your local library may have a free copy of this movie; it is currently available at amazon.com for $6.49 (brand new, not used) plus shipping at this non-FW~A affiliated link http://www.amazon.com/Emma-Gwyneth-Paltrow/dp/B004SIP7AS/ref=pd_cp_mov_0 .