“The LORD had said to
Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to
the land I will show you” Genesis 12:1.
I remember as I got into my 40’s I really began
understanding the impact my grandmother made on women across the landscape of
her life. She had dedicated her life to
serving through community and women’s ministries, leaving her mark on the heart
of every woman she encouraged. I recall
at her 100th birthday party woman after woman would stand up and
share how she had impacted their lives.
The closer I became to God the more deeply I desired to also go into
women’s ministries like my grandmother.
It seemed that the path was opening in my church for this to become a
reality. But something happened…Genesis 12:1 happened. God led me away from the familiar and
comfortable and right through the doors of an organization of which I had
little knowledge. The land to which He
brought me was nothing like the land I left.
I felt this was so foreign to me and did not lend itself towards the
goal I had for myself of women’s ministries.
Just like Abram must have felt, I didn’t understand why I had to leave
my comfort zone. I didn’t know why I had
to give up on the image in my mind of what serving in women’s ministry looked
like. I was insecure about the land He
was showing me and the places He was taking me.
The other day I was asked to go and meet with a lovely woman
to receive a donation for the ministry. She
was a stranger to me but I had a job to do and was certainly going to do it
well. I prayed that God would allow me
to be in the moment with that woman and really enjoy her company. Guess what happened? Women’s ministry happened…right in the food
court of Ikea as I watched her 4 year old watch television, nibbling on his
chicken nuggets…alongside a young woman who struggled with the way her church
lacked passion about this cause. We
talked about her marriage, her life, her children and her service. I remember looking into her eyes as she
needed some encouragement and realizing how God was working. If a heart could wink, it winked at God that
day as He pulled the curtain back and showed me a different way of women’s
ministries in 2014. It was one of the
most wonderful experiences as I realize what first seemed like a far-off land
became a familiar and fruitful harvest ground.
God has a plan for each of our lives and if we surrender our own perception
of how it looks He will show us His design.
It can be scary to venture into something new but we must remember what
is our ‘new’ is His predetermined calling.
‘From the east I
summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned that will I do’ Isaiah 46:10-11.
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