This weekend, there was a lot of news made by the Women’s March in Washington D.C. I hadn’t heard much about it until it happened, but I knew it was supposed to be a protest against President Trump and in support of women’s rights. After hearing some of the coverage, I have some thoughts I want to share about how I view womanhood and femininity a little differently than the media would lead you to believe most women do.

Watching that rally would make you think that being a woman means being mean, rude, and vulgar. It would make you think it means supporting a woman’s “right to choose” to kill the child in her womb, to discard the unique gift we have that men don’t: the ability to bring new life into the world. It would make you think it means believing that screaming and yelling and getting angry will change things. But to me, that’s not at all what it means to be a woman.

Being a woman means being an image-bearer of God, made to complement and work alongside men. It means loving and encouraging our families. It means bringing joy and beauty to the lives of the people we love. It means serving the people around us, showing compassion and empathy. It means teaching our daughters how to be ladies and teaching our sons how to be gentlemen. It means standing up and speaking out about the things that matter, but with love and truth, not anger and lies. It means protecting the vulnerable; the children in foster care, the unborn babies, and the young, scared mothers who think they have no choice but to abort their baby. It means reaching out and showing love, especially to the people we don’t agree with, even starting with the women who marched in Washington, many of whom are genuinely hurt and afraid. As women, we have the potential to greatly impact the world around us with the unique feminine traits God has given us, but only if we act out of love.

Those women made the news last weekend because they’re angry and upset. And you know what? I’m upset about some things too, and I’m glad we live in a country where we can talk about those things and then do something. I’m upset that tens of millions of babies have been killed over the last few decades, before they even had a chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I’m upset that a lot of their mothers felt trapped, like they had no choice. Some people celebrate these things as “women’s rights.” But what about the rights of the girls who never got the chance to become women? What about the mothers who were told the lie that it wasn’t really a baby, that they would be better off without the burden of a child anyway, and that no one cared enough about them to help them raise new life, that the only help available was to help their unborn children die? So yes, I’m upset. But mostly I’m upset with myself for not doing more to change things. Because you know what? Protesting doesn’t change anything. Screaming hatred for our new president doesn’t change anything. Only love, God’s love, has the power to truly change hearts and minds and souls. Only love can change things, and love, like faith, is a verb. It requires action, putting yourself out there, giving of yourself.

So whatever it is that upsets you, that makes you angry, don’t just protest, make a sign, post on Facebook, and go on your merry way. I’m all too guilty of that sometimes too, but I want to change. Whatever your issue is, go out there and fight for what you believe in. Start small; don’t worry about doing some grand gesture. Do what you can with what you have, where you are, but just do something. I’m reminding myself of this too. Because what it really means to be a woman? is to show love through action. Take the love and passion God has given you and use it to help support and encourage the people He’s called you to.