Four women I encountered yesterday…
Mother: Georgie Eustace from Wolverhampton, is the mother of ‘dichorionic-triamniotic’ triplets – two identical and one fraternal. Her picture was in yesterday’s paper. Georgie said:
‘Life is crazy and overwhelming. It doesn’t look the way I thought it was going to when we started trying… I do wish there was more time to just sit and cuddle each of them, you really have to make the most of each moment because it’s so busy.’
Friend: Aunt Louie’s husband had died. She came to stay with the Foreman family, running the corner shop in Pakefield, during the war. Michael Foreman writes about her supporting local families, befriending many servicemen billeted locally, in ‘War Boy’:
‘Mum and Aunt Louie… had a wonderful way with the legions of men who, for a brief moment in the tumult of their lives, found a cup of tea, a cigarette and a chat at the corner shop.’
Joy: Artist friend Esther Day is exhibiting this gold leaf acrylic painting, entitled ‘Embracing Joy’, in Framingham next week. Esther says:
‘This painting is a vibrant depiction of Joy! It was inspired by reflections on Pentecost – a celebration of the in-filling of the presence of God for all people. So this painting is a statement of that joy, empowerment, in-filling and fullness of life! I hope she inspires you.’
Suffering: In ‘Images of Christ’ Mary Grey describes ‘Christa’ a bronze sculpture, by Winston Churchill’s granddaughter Edwina Sandys. It depicts Christ crucified as a woman. First displayed in 1984, it was both praised by theologians and artists, and condemned as sacrilegious and offensive. Mary Grey speaks of:
‘Deeply moving testimonies and prayers by violated and abused women who found identifying with this Christa a healing experience.’ She quotes one: ‘O God, through this image of a woman crucified on the cross I understand at last… You were there with me as the violated girl caught un helpless suffering.’
Pictures of four women… Georgie, Louie, Joy, Christa… lead me to reflection and prayer.
To see more of Esther’s work visit: https://estherdaysart.etsy.com
malcolmsmusings.org 
As you know Malcolm, I do try not to be contentious.
However, I don’t understand what Mary Grey’s quote means with regards to Christa.
https://feminismandreligion.com/2015/10/06/christa-interview-with-edwina-sandys-by-nettie-reynolds/
‘O God, through this image of a woman crucified on the cross I understand at last… You were there with me as the violated girl caught un helpless suffering.’
If a woman is being abused or violated in any way, how can it be a comfort having someone, who they believe to be omnipotent, there and letting it happen?
Nettie Reynolds article is very moving, and I understand how Christa can be a wonderful fillip for women, especially as The Bible itself, the Old Testament anyway, isn’t the best advocate of female equality.
Perhaps I have answered my question myself.
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Later in the chapter, Alan, Mary Grey talks about Christ as Christa ‘not condoning the suffering of abused women… but by being present with and sharing in the brokenness, identifying this as the priority for God’s healing love.’
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