The Effects of Health, Poverty, Relationships, and Religion
in a Woman’s Later Stage of Life
From the time her Creator with tender
loving care, delicately and passionately knitted her into a unique and extraordinary creation, a woman is fearfully
and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). In every stage
of life, she needs to be nurtured and to nurture, loved and to love, being
shown her unique gifts and qualities that makes her world a better place
because she is a part of it. When a woman does not receive nurturing, and love
and her self-esteem is not being cultivated, she will go through each stage of
life empty and depressed, desiring to find a purpose for her existence. Women need
to spend the proper time building their self-esteem so they will have a healthy
outlook on life. If a woman does not work on her self-esteem, her psychological
and physical health will suffer, causing bitterness and regret in the later
stages of life. However, with God, there is always hope. If the support cannot be
found in her family and friends, there is always someone who sticks
closer than a brother. God will never fail a woman. He will always be there,
supporting and nurturing her through every stage of life (Proverbs 18:24).
The Health of a Woman throughout Her Earlier Stages of Life, Affects Her
View of Life in the Later Stages of Life
Not surprisingly, as in every area of a woman’s life, what happens in her early stages
will affect how she views herself in the later stages of life. Women are at
greater risks for depression than men. Therefore,
how a woman sees herself through the early stages of life will dictate her
mental health when she gets older. When a woman has a healthy
self-esteem, she will have a greater capacity of understanding who she is. Her
life will not feel like it is spiraling out of control. Instead, she will have
a firm grip on what her purpose is in
life. She will thus feel more secure in whom she
has become as a woman, wife, mother, caregiver, friend, neighbor, if working;
coworker, and an intricate part of her community (Kim, Richardson, Park, & Park, 2013, p.
210).
When a woman is secure in who she is at an early stage in
life, she will be healthier, not only physically, but mentally as well. In
fact, a healthy stable woman recovers
more quickly from illnesses, injuries, and any other struggle she may face in
life. She must strive to find a purpose in her life. If her life is filled with emptiness, negative feelings toward self, and a
non-existent support group, she will find herself mentally and physically
unhealthy when she grows older. Depression will set in, not only tearing
her down mentally, but will also have an effect on her physical well-being. She will find herself living a life of regret,
depression, and a constant feeling that she has no control over any area of her
life (Kim, Richardson, Park, & Park, 2013, p. 212).
The struggles of
being a woman go beyond just the struggles she faces in her day-to-day life.
Women are naturally better caretakers than men. They instinctively take care of
their husbands when they are sick and/or injured. Women also take care of their
children when they are sick and/or injured. Care-taking causes undo stresses that
if not checked, will cause their health to deteriorate. Their husbands have to
help carry the load. If husbands do not support
their wives, they will find themselves exhausted, under-appreciated, depressed,
and needing care of their own. Women need support from their husbands and their
social circles to live a mentally and physically healthy life. If they do not
receive support, they will struggle in their health and well-being. They will
be incapable of taking care of their family (Bulanda, 2011, p. 7).
When health becomes an issue for a woman, support from her
husband, children, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and other social groups are
important. The difficulty from being the caregiver to becoming the one needing
care can be taxing for women. It is important that her husband take on the role as caregiver, giving her the attention
and support she needs. The husband must love, cherish, and support her. If she
does not receive the support she needs, her later stages of life will more than
likely be filled with depression and ill-health.
In
some health issues, husbands have taken on the role of caregiver. Surprisingly,
in the case of breast cancer, studies have found that relationships between
husbands and wives have grown stronger through the process of treatments. The
same nurturing she had provided all these years are now necessary for her
mental and physical healing. When she is drawn
closer to her husband, she will have the strength and desire to fight the
cancer, giving her a better chance of full recovery (Moreira, Crespo, Pereira
& Canavarro, 2010, p. 72).
Unfortunately,
studies have also found that six months after treatments, a couples’ intimacy
will revert to where it was prior to the
cancer. Naturally, the question must be
asked and answered, “How healthy was their relationship prior to the diagnosis
of cancer?” The answer to that question will help to understand how healthy
their relationship will be after she defeats cancer. The importance of her
relationships and her self-image will determine how healthy she will be in the
later stages of life (Moreira, Crespo, Pereira & Canavarro, 2010, p. 73).
To
be able to handle the stresses of life, a woman has to have positive feelings
toward herself, family, friends, coworkers, and her social interactions within
her community. Being able to handle the stresses in life cannot happen if she
only sees herself as a wife, mother, friend, neighbor, and coworker. She must
have a healthy view of who she is as a person. If a woman does not take the time for herself, she will get lost in the
roles she has in life and lose her identity. However, if a woman takes the time
to become a better person, focusing on who she is as an individual, her
self-esteem will rise. She will begin to have positive feelings toward herself.
In return, she will have a better outlook on life, becoming the person she
desires. Her health and well-being in her later stages of life will have a more
positive outcome (Moreira, Crespo, Pereira & Canavarro, 2010, p. 75).
How Poverty Plays a
Role in How a Woman Views Herself in the Later Stages of Life
According to Cummings and Jackson, studies have shown that
poverty can play a heavy role in the life of a woman. Poverty can and does
affect women’s health; mentally and physically. Physically, impoverished women
tend to experience more diseases and impairments due to their lack of proper healthcare. As a result, women living in poverty have higher death rates than women in
the same stage of life, who are more affluent (as cited in Kim, Richardson,
Park, & Park, 2013, p. 208).
In 2003, Blazer declared that ill health also affect the mental stability of women in the later
stages of life. Daily activities cease or are
hindered due to illnesses and physical disabilities. Events they had grown accustomed to, are now
impossible because of their disabilities. Loneliness and depression become part
of their daily lives, instead. Spending time
with family and friends, in other words; their support groups, become difficult
due to the physical and mental conditions they have acquired due to their
inability to keep up with their healthcare in the earlier stages of life.
Poverty does not cause Alzheimer's disease. However,
if a woman is depressed, it will worsen and deteriorate the effects of
Alzheimer’s disease. The inability to have good healthcare can cause a domino effect
of mental and physical illness, leaving a woman living in the later stages of
her life an empty shell of the person she once was. Her hopes and dreams for a beautiful retirement is shattered due to
society’s inability and/or desire to take care of the impoverished and sick in their
communities (Kim, Richardson, Park, & Park, 2013, p. 210).
In some areas of the United States, African American women
have an added causal affect to poverty.
In the poorer areas of America, African American men feel trapped in their
society, with no way out. Their perceived inability to advance in life, have
left them impoverished and with no hope. As a consequence, African American
women, in the poorer areas of the United States, have decided they do not need
a man in their life. Not being able to find a suitable mate, they have chosen a
career over marriage. In fact, African American women do not see single-parenting
as a disadvantage (Ball, 1983, p. 406). Later in life, however, these choices
can lead to poorer health, causing depression in their final years.
A higher percentage of African American women who are married, are also less likely than white
women to drop out of the workforce. White women, regardless of their
socioeconomic status, have a higher tendency to stay home to raise their children.
However, African American women, due to their cultural background, do not feel they have
the luxury of giving up their career. When living in poverty, they have always
played a more dominant role in providing for their families. On the other hand,
African American women with a college degree are more likely to marry a more
affluent man. Breaking the cycle of poverty,
they see themselves as having the option of quitting the workforce so they can
stay home with their children (Spanier, G., Roos, P., & Shockey, J. (1985,
p. 999).
The added financial struggles, and in so many cases, lack of
a husband and father in the home, African American women, in the poorer parts
of America, have a higher rate of depression than white women.
Unfortunately, African American women are also less likely to get the treatment
they need to help them through their depression (Mengesha & Ward, 2012). Without
proper treatment, depression will follow them through the later stages of life,
producing ill health and self-esteem. To
help them in their struggles, they need to have healthy support groups
throughout their lives. If they do not find the
support they require, their later stages of life will be filled with ill
health, mentally and physically (Kim,
Richardson, Park, & Park, 2013, p. 212).
A Woman’s Relationships that She Nurtures
throughout Her Earlier Stages of Life and
Carries on in her Later Stages of Life, will Affect Her View of Self
Women need to seek real
support groups in the initial stages of
adulthood, or they will not have a healthy self-image. Having a feeling of
belonging, a sense of being cherished is
crucial in the development of self-worth through every stage of life. Healthy
attachments with parents, husbands, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and social
groups help to shape a healthy image of self, building the self-esteem
necessary for a woman to live a healthy productive life. In return, to have real value in self, she also has to become a nurturer, building the self-esteem and worth
of others (Bell & Bell, 2009, pp. 473-474).
One of the best places a woman can become an effective
nurturer is in the home. If a mother tries to nurture her children, yet, she
has a low self-esteem or she does not
have a healthy relationship with their father, her children’s self-worth will
be affected. Nurturing is more than just saying the right thing. Nurturing is
also the way a woman lives her life and responds under stress. She has to be an
example to her children on how to live a life filled with hope and inspiration.
She has to demonstrate with her life, not just her communication that she has
value and self-esteem for herself. If she does not reveal a healthy self-esteem, her children will not
listen to her (Bell & Bell, 2009, pp. 471-472).
Failure
in nurturing in the home will not only affect a woman’s children but will also affect her life. She will live a life of
regret. Her self-esteem will be impaired,
causing doubt and frustration. A woman must not only nurture, but she must also
be nurtured, or she will not have a
healthy view of self in any stage of life. Therefore, her health and well-being
will be debilitated in her later stages of life. Her home life is crucial in
developing a healthy self-esteem, not only for her, but the rest of her family.
Is there hope for a woman who is psychologically and
physically unhealthy in the later stages of life? Is there hope for a woman
whose life has been damaged due to
neglect and abuse? When failure is the only thing a woman sees as she looks
back at her life, can she find value in herself? Who can a woman turn to when
everyone else has failed her? How can she find the value and self-worth
necessary to live a productive, healthy
life in her later stages? The answer can be
found in the One, who created her.
There is always hope when God is in the equation.
How God Plays a Role
in the Satisfaction of a Woman’s Life in every Stage of Life
God paints a beautiful picture of what
constitutes a virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. In other words, God reveals what
constitutes a psychological, physical, and spiritually healthy woman. When a
woman understands who she is in life, and the value she can give to others, she
will know who she is in her Creator’s eyes. Her identity in her Creator will give
a woman value and self-worth. She will be able to handle any situation she
faces in life because she will know and
experience the fact that she is never alone. Even if others fail her, God will
never leave her nor forsake her. He is always by her side (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Being a godly, virtuous woman, is the most
precious commodity on earth. Her life will become more precious than any wealth
she can accumulate. She does not base her relationships with her beauty, charm, or abilities. The foundation of her
relationships rest on God and the desires He has for her life. Her husband and
family will see the richness of her relationship with God, and praise her for
her faithfulness. She will be trusted to bring good, not harm, in all of her
relationships; family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and community. She will
become a shining light of God’s goodness in all the days of her life (Proverbs
31:10-12, 30; Matthew 5:14).
A godly woman’s love for family gives her the
desire to not only bring security into the household, but also to love, cherish
and take care of her family. There are debates on whether a woman should stay
home to look after her family or focus on a
career. However, God never declared that a woman should only be a
homemaker. In Proverbs 31:13-21, a virtuous woman is not sitting at home,
cleaning and waiting for her husband to come home. She is busy with her career. She governs her household, is
a spinster, plants and cultivates her vineyard, and manages her earnings,
making sure she always makes a profit.
The debate concerning whether a woman should
stay home or not should be left to the woman and God. God has created
every individual equally, yet uniquely. God has a plan for all women, and no
one in society, nor church has the right to tell a woman whether she should be
a homemaker or not. Through the ages, many societies
and churches have failed in recognizing the equality of women. A woman must
align herself with a church and community that respects her as an individual
and sees her as an equal productive part of their community. In God’s eyes, a
woman is equal, unique, and able to accomplish anything He desires for her. She
is precious in His sight (Barber & Axinn, 1998, p.p. 21-22;
Perkins, 1988, p. 37, 44; Avishai, pp. 50-51).
Even during the time of Jesus, women were not
treated equally. They were seen as property at best. However, Jesus showed with
His actions and His words, that women are equal and unique. They are valuable
to Him as His creation, His children, and His helpers in reaching the world
with His love. The God of all creation made it clear that women are valuable in
His eyes. If the community or the church does
not recognize the equality and uniqueness of women, they will never receive the
blessing God has for those who become one in body and purpose (Moore, Briscoe, Wilson, Hart,
Hager, Wells, & LaHaye, 2003, p. 22).
Because of who she is in God, and how He sees
her, a virtuous woman will never be selfish. She will never be satisfied and
content with only focusing on the needs of herself and her family. She will
become a healthy productive member of her community
because she has the self-worth and value only God can give her. The busyness of
life will never keep her from seeing the needs of those around her. With the love of God in her heart, she reaches into
the depths of the darkness of her community, helping those in need. She
nurtures them, giving of her time, talent, and resources, to help the less
fortunate. She is the epitome of love. She is a vessel in the hands of her God,
nurturing those around her as He is nurturing her (Proverbs 31:13-20).
A godly woman is also always prepared, in good
times and bad, through any struggles of life. When others see her, they see a
strong woman, prepared for any obstacle. She is satisfied with life
because, in humility, she places her faith in God. He is her refuge, her place
of safety. Even in hard times, there is joy in her heart. She knows that God
will bless her work and will supply all
of her needs. Her husband’s community will see
him as blessed, for he is the husband of a godly woman (Proverbs 31:21-25;
Psalms 91:2; Isaiah 66:2; Philippians 4:19).
A godly woman is guided by the Holy Spirit as
she desires to serve God, her family, friends, coworkers, and community. She
thinks of others before herself. She never places her career or desires ahead
of her family. They are more important than climbing the Ladder of Success. There
is nothing wrong with success. However, whether man or woman, if career is more
important than family, than failure is imminent in the home. A woman must
cherish her family, desiring to nurture and love them, preparing her children
for a healthy productive life. Just as a husband is to love and cherish his
wife, a woman is also to cherish and love
her husband. Together, through love for one another, healthy self-esteem, and
knowledge of who they are in their Creator, they can build one another up. They can
raise their children to be healthy productive members of their society, respecting
and loving one another and their God (Allen
& Kalish, 1984, p.p. 380-381).
The words of a virtuous woman come from God. She
brings wise counsel to those who listen. She raises her daughters to seek
wisdom, so they too can be servants of God; becoming the wife, mother, friend,
neighbor, coworker, and the citizen in her community, God desires. She teaches
them to honor God, for the fear of the Lord is the foundation of a life of
wisdom. It is the foundation of a
satisfied life. She will be loved, respected,
and praised wherever she goes, for she is a godly woman. God’s picture of a
virtuous woman is a beautiful image of a life filled with purpose and
self-worth through every stage of her life. In her later stages of life, she
will be content, knowing she was faithful to her God, family, neighbors, co-workers,
and her society. She is a virtuous woman (Galatians 5:16; James 1:5; Proverbs
31:26; Proverbs 31:26; Proverbs 4:5-7; Titus 2:3-5; Proverbs 9:10; Proverbs
31:27-31).
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