Shield Maidens

Our history is riddled with the idea of women breaking tradition and secretly becoming soldiers. From Mulan to Roza Shanina , stories abound of women who broke protocol and fought for the cause in which they believed. Perhaps the most literary term for these ladies comes from Norse history. Women have been exhumed and found to be buried with swords and shields. This has caused historians to look deeper into the literature of that time period. They have found a word that seems to depict these warrior women: Shield Maidens. The term “Shield Maiden” seems to depict a strong, yet humble, woman who knows her duty to her family and does it with the elegance and grace befitting a maiden.

In the world we live in today, we are facing a different kind of battle front. We are no longer discouraged from joining military ranks. Instead, we are discouraged from taking part in a battle that everyone seems to have forgotten. Our men are not fighting this battle. Our children are not fighting this battle. Our political leaders are not fighting this battle. It has been forgotten and pushed away as a “thing of the past” and “irrelevant.” This battle front needs shield maidens who will stand up and bear arms against the enemy. This battle front is not a physical battle. It is a spiritual one.

How can we fight in this battle? How can we be shield maidens in this realm?

A shield is a unique weapon. It is used primarily for defense, but it is also used, at times, for the offensive. If you have seen any sort of fencing, you will see that when the sword is knocked from a combatant’s hands, he lifts his shield to protect his body. His assailant, thinking he is now defenseless, begins to swing at him wildly, hoping to crush him beneath the fury of his blows. He has forgotten, however, that the shield is large, blunt, and usually quite heavy. When swung with strength and power, the shield becomes a heavy club, able of knocking a man back and away from its carrier. It is time for us, as women of God, to pick up our shields and carry them into this battle. It is time to use them to protect our families from the attack of this world and its prince, Satan. It is time to use them to fight back when our weapons have fallen from our hands.

Do you feel powerless as you watch your family fall to pieces? Do you feel hopeless as you watch your husband sink into frustrated depression?

It is time to pick up your shields, women of God! It is time to be a Shield Maiden.

Our shield is prayer. It is covering our husband, children, community, neighbors, pastor, church, and decisions in a shield called prayer. Spiritual protection has been lost too long in our society. The Shield of Prayer is no longer protecting our homes from the attack of Satan. The Shield of Prayer is missing from our decision making. The Shield of Prayer is our first form of defense when we feel hopeless. The Shield of Prayer will cover us when it looks like all is lost.

Our shield is faith. It is believing when all is dark. My pastor recently preached a message about the shield of faith that shredded my view of the shield. He shared how when Paul wrote about the shield of faith in Ephesians 4:16, he was speaking of the “SCOTUM” of the Roman army. These shields were about 3.5 feet tall, 16 inches across, and weighed about 22 pounds. It was an advantage over the enemies of the Roman soldier because of its size. The shield was large enough for a full grown man to hunker behind when arrows, javelins, and swords were thrust at him. However, when you are covering yourself with something that large, it can sometimes be hard to see around it. We may find ourselves “quenching all the fiery darts of the wicked,” but we are unable to see it happening because we are hunkered down behind a shield. The Shield of Faith impedes our view, but the Shield of Faith is believing that even though we cannot see what God is doing, He is working all to our good. A Shield Maiden of God will hold high her shield of faith when her family has lost faith. Her faith may be the last thing holding her family together, but her Shield of Faith will not let her give up hope.

Our shield is hope. Tied closely with faith, this hope inside of us is what keeps our faith strong. It is the constant watching with positivity for God to work out our situation. It is believing because of something inside of you that says, “it will happen” and not because something visible says, “It is happening.” The Shield of Hope is what sustains our faith to keep believing, no matter what. Our Shield of Hope is what gives us patience with God, our husbands, and our children. We hope for what we see not and with patience, we wait for it.

We are called to be warriors, Shield Maidens, who will carry our shields into war. We are called to protect and strengthen our families. When the sword is knocked from our hands and the wind is knocked from our sails, we must not quit. We must hold high our shield!