If you would have told me I’d love being on an all women team a year ago I would have said “Nope, you’re cray.” But it happened. I love Team Gladiators. Since we are doing Unsung Heroes this month our team is basically on our own, without a ministry community or contact. We are being forced to depend more on each other because we are all we’ve got. I’m loving this time with my sisters.
Let me take you back a few months to training camp. When we did team formations every possible team I was placed on was all female. I panicked. Why? There were a few different reasons: I struggle with comparison, especially comparing my body to the bodies of other women. I craved healthy and loving friendships with men. I wanted to grow in understanding and serving men.
After some processing in my tent, God revealed to me that he wanted to work through my comparison struggle. I live, eat, sleep, and do ministry with 5 other women who are beautiful outwardly and inwardly. But I am beautiful outwardly and inwardly too. We are each designed so uniquely and intricately by our Father. We are enriching one another’s lives with the beauty God has given us.
Also during my tent-processing, God made me aware that I had been placing more value on my friendships with the men of G squad than I had with the women of G squad. Desiring good and healthy relationships with men is a holy desire, but it could have become an idol for me had I not become aware of it. I am so thankful that he gave me that awareness and I was able to build friendships on a healthy foundation from the start. I knew that God would fulfill the desire to understand and serve men better in his own way. He knows best how to provide for me, and he definitely has met that desire. I have great, healthy, and loving friendships with men on G-squad. I’m learning more about true manhood from them than I ever expected.
At training camp I made the decision to embrace my sisters. To believe that God had a purpose for our team. To trust that he would use them to sharpen me. To trust that they would love me and be a safe place. God has honored my trust in him and surpassed any expectations I may have had for Team Gladiators. These women are my sisters, my friends, my comrades in arms. We are six strong women striving for unity. We are learning to express our needs and fight for one another. It’s awesome.
So yeah, being on an all-women team can be scary or frustrating at times, but with some help from my teammates, let me tell you some of the benefits we have experienced.
“You can have worship with no pants!” Jackelyn, our team leader. It’s great to not have to think about wardrobe choices and appropriate attire for your teammate’s sake. Sometimes its just more convenient to be on an all-women team. We don’t have to think as much about sleeping arrangements, or shower situations, etc.
“We don’t have to filter, we can talk about whatever we want,” said Naomi. Practically nothing is off-limits on an all women team. Its great when we’re joking or having casual discussions, but it also helped us go deeper and get to know one another faster. We didn’t have to skirt around certain topics or navigate boundaries in the beginning whereas that is often necessary for co-ed teams. We were also able to go deep quickly because being all women, we understand one another well. “We haven’t had to explain our feelings or clue guys in on how women communicate,” Dubz commented.
In some ways it can be easier to focus without the male-folk around. “For me, the lack of male-distraction has been really beneficial. I haven’t worried as much about how I look,” expressed Sherbs. It’s nice to be on a team where there’s not even a remote possibility for romantic distraction.
We have learned how to better have healthy relationships with other women. I was blessed with a great community of lovely ladies at University of the Cumberlands and through Women at the Cross. But some of my teammates didn’t really have that at home. Its been beautiful to watch our team open up and be vulnerable, trust, and support one another.
So there ya have it. Being on an all female team can be a challenge but it freaking rocks. Possible team changes are coming up at the end of this month and we have no idea what is going to happen. But I am confident that God placed us together for a purpose whether it was just for the first four months of the race or for the entirety of it.
“Iron sharpens iron as one (wo)man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
