Through the lens of Woman

There is a small, easy-to-miss verse in Genesis 8. Noah sends out a dove from the ark (Gen 8:8).

The dove was a she. In the Hebrew, doves are most often a feminine image. And in the Scriptures the dove keeps showing up — the Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 1; the Spirit descending on Jesus at his baptism; here, the dove that returns with an olive leaf in her beak, telling Noah the world is becoming livable again.

The first sign of new life after the flood was a she-bird carrying back the news. Notice what the text gives her — the first word about what is coming next.

Throughout Scripture, women carry first words. The first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection were women. The first to say the Messiah is coming in Luke’s gospel were Elizabeth and Mary. The first to know the world was livable again after the flood was a dove sent by Noah and trusted with the news.

If you are a woman of faith, you are living in this same lineage. The Father gives women eyes for what is coming next. He trusts you with the first word. That is not a small calling. It is its own ministry.

One small thing today: in a place where everything looks like flood, ask the Spirit — what new life are you bringing that I might be the first to see? Carry the answer back. Tell someone.