I walked into the room ready to share stories and reflections of my brave faith journey. I worked hard to prepare just the right words. Throughout the process, I prayed for God to encourage just the right women to join me for my sessions. As the day grew closer, I searched for peace in the final preparations. I let go of my tendency toward perfectionism and asked God to do the rest. Saturday dawned chilly and bright skies greeted me. I walked into the church and …
I’m pressing pause on the outcome to share the backstory. Several months ago, the women’s director of a local church asked me to speak at a one-day women’s conference. The person in charge knows me and asked that I do two sessions on Brave Faith. I agreed. Fast forward to this past Saturday and the conference.
Four women joined me for my first session. I sat down with the women and approached it more like a conversation. As I spoke I could visibly see the engagement and the willingness that these ladies brought to learn something about brave faith. One woman especially impacted me as she contributed a piece of her story.
I asked the women if they thought they were brave. It’s not a trick question but it is one that is hard to answer depending on life circumstances and life experience. This woman answered, without hesitation, “I am brave”. I still hesitate before I call myself brave. But at age eighty-seven, this woman who is now my new hero brought a glimpse of what faith looks like. She spoke without any doubt of how God is always with her. From deep inside she shared there is no fear because of that trust. I can’t stop thinking how beautiful faith is and how she embodied what that looks like.
Since Saturday, I realized that God listened and knew who needed to hear about brave faith. He also knew exactly what I needed. The chance to learn from someone else is a gift I don’t take lightly. When God opens doors, He provides the people to walk through them.
My time on Saturday was blessed because the right women walked in. I grew in my understanding of faith as a result. I am better off for having spent time with these women.
[Tweet “Walking in the door is the first step. Letting God change you as a result grows you exponentially.”]
As I stepped away from the weekend and reflected on the sessions, I learned that a time of teaching is also a time of learning. Three stories in the Bible come to mind of the right women interacting with Jesus. They left the encounter profoundly changed.
- The Woman at the Well – In a short span of time, the woman meets Jesus, he promises her the gift of living water, is forgiven and known by the man who became our Savior. Think of all she would miss if she had not walked out to the well at the exact time Jesus was passing through her town. See John 4
- The Woman Who was Caught in Adultery – As this woman stands before the crowd, the Pharisees name her sin and ask Jesus what he thinks. The question is turned back to them. Then Jesus spoke these words, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone”. One moment death by stoning was imminent and the next Jesus forgave her. See John 8
- The Woman with the Alabaster Jar – A simple act of honoring Jesus by washing His feet with her tears and expensive perfume, turned into a Pharisee accusing her of being a sinner and Jesus modeling love and forgiveness. See Luke 7
I can’t help but think of all the things I miss because I call out the truth instead of tempering it with grace. Or I make a quick judgment about a person at the expense of just loving them. Jesus showed us over and over that when you open the door, the right person will walk in. The question is how will you respond when they do.
What might you miss by not walking through the door? How can you sit in an open posture for God to teach you while you teach others?
Blessings,
Photo by Evelyn Bertrand on Unsplash
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It never ceases to amaze me how God brings us the right people at the right time. It sounds like your day was a success on so many levels, Mary. I’m so happy to hear of you doing these speaking engagements. You have so much to offer by sharing your faith, your gift of teaching, and that wonderful book of yours, my friend :). I think that sweet, older woman is one of my new heroes now too!
Thank you, Candace! I am speaking sporadically but pray God provides more opportunities. I appreciate your sweet words here today! I am blessed by you and how you encourage and cheer me on.
You would have loved the older woman. I wanted to take her home with me to keep me motivated and encouraged. Love that you were here today. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your whole family.
Mary,
Any time I’ve been called to lead, teach or speak, I’m the one that ends up being led, taught, or spoken to. God always works miraculously like this. Blessings sweet friend,
Bev xo
God does work miraculously. I love how He always knows what we need and is gracious to provide it. Blessings to you as we head to Thanksgiving!
Isn’t it great how God knows exactly what we need? Sounds like you had a great weekend and you were all blessed.
Hi Mary! What an exciting opportunity for you to share your faith with others, and for them to do the same with you. I love your faith that God would send just the right people to your break out session. And you were rewarded in that!
I hope you’ll have many more opportunities to share your story and your love of the Lord. It’s an awesome ministry, isn’t it? How beautiful that Christ has called you to serve his people in that way.
Blessings,
Ceil
I agree, Mary. I think God is intimately involved in bringing us into the right situations at the right times with the right people all the time. We just need to be brave in Him! Thanks for leading the way in this effort, my friend! I see your influence in this way growing and gaining more and more power!
Mary, you said yes to be brave and then blessed by the bravery of others. Our stories shared in places of God’s unconditional love and grace are blessed places indeed! And have an ‘open posture.’ I know I have to move out of my own way, my own perfectionism too sometimes, into grace, to keep my posture open and say yes to the open doors.
Mary, this hits me square in the heart. Pretty sure God wanted me to read this. I’m so glad you got to share brave moments with those beautiful women. All the right people;)
Mary, such a beautiful post. What a great prayer to pray before teaching for a retreat. I’m sure the women who attended your sessions were blessed. And how sweet of God to give you the gift of perspective in the form of the older lady who joined your group.
The three women who interacted with Jesus? That’s how He wants to interact with each of us, isn’t it? When we can be transparent and humble with Him, the fellowship is amazing and intimate.
This was beautiful, Mary. How God opened the door and knew who to send through it. I love that lady who answered yes, she was brave, and then pointed the audience to God. I know I would have wanted to be humble, if asked the question, and said no, because I can think of someone braver. But how much better was her testimony when she said yes. Wow, thinking on this.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful experience with us, Mary. I love that you ask the women that question, inviting them to share. And what a heart-warming surprise for you to receive from God even more than you asked for. Thank you also for the heart smiles you give with your photos. 🙂 Love and hugs!
Thanks for sharing your day with us, Mary. I remember when you were talking about doing this and it sounds like God brought just the right women there to hear your wisdom, to share His love, to encourage each other.
Just considering speaking at a conference sparks bravery … or fear and apprehension that would so easily override our call to minister. You’ve encouraged me by your example today, friend.
But what else is new?
;-}
Mary, as I read your post I thought all along that YOU were (are) ” just the right woman” God opened the door, for YOU, you walked through …& YOU were blessed by HIM through that lovely woman that had already been through the opened door & sent to answer your prayer…” God send just the right woman” He did.. He sent YOU!!!…. to be a blessing & to be blessed…by HIM!!!!!
Mary, I love this encouraging backstory! It reveals so much of how lavishly God gives to us when we’re simply seeking to be a blessing to others. May we all keep opening the door to experiencing brave faith, step through with Holy courage and confidence, and be mindful of the learning and sharing opportunities that might come our way as we do so. A beautiful, gentle, thought-provoking refection. Thank you! xo 🙂
Thank you so much for being here and sharing your encouragement. An open door is such a great image of saying “yes” to God and then stepping through to see all He is going to do.
May God provide many open doors that extend an invitation and new life as we step through to experience more of God. I pray we all feel God’s brave faith in the journey.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful words! I am reminded of all of the hundreds of hours I spent teaching little children, only to come away so blessed because of the ways that their child-like faith impacted my heart! I love this closing question that you posed: “Jesus showed us over and over that when you open the door, the right person will walk in. The question is how will you respond when they do.”
I can just imagine what a blessing it was to spend time with those children. I know having spent my career as a teacher I loved those times where the kids had “ah ha” moments.
Jesus wants to give us more of these. We need to open our doors and embrace the people who walk through. I pray I respond as Jesus would when those people cross my path.
Mary, this is such a wonderful post! This woman has just become my new “hero”. This thought here is powerful > “A time of teaching is also a time of learning.” May we be ever willing to learn from those God has placed around us. Blessings!
I truly was in awe of this woman for so many reasons but when I think of what faith is and how to live it out, she made it look easy. One of my favorite things, when I was teaching, were those moments that a child finally got the concept. It was even better when they were able to expand on what they had just learned.
I pray I never stop learning and am blessed by those who God puts in my path. Thank you for joining me today!
I had this happen to me a couple of weeks ago in my Sunday school class. We were covering the chapter on Be the Gift in Ann Voskamp’s The Broken Way, and brainstorming ways to be givers in our real life, and one of the young mums shared a sweet story of an interaction at WalMart that just stopped me in my tracks — waaaaaay outside this girl’s comfort zone, and so I was blessed and challenged all at once.
And truly, that’s the best part of teaching: when our learners turn the tables on us and become the teacher without even realizing it.
It is the best part of teaching. I had many of these experiences when I was teaching children but for some reason, this felt very new to me. I know it is partly because teaching adults and sharing my faith is so different.
Thank you for sharing your own story from your Sunday school class. I’m sure the moment is one you won’t forget. Blessed by your faithful participation here.
I’m glad it went well on Saturday, Mary, and that you had the chance to be blessed as well as blessing others. I love how God sometimes puts the right people in our paths to do just that
PS- I’ve nominated you for a blogger award! Details are in my post if you want to take part but absolutely no pressure- I just wanted to show my appreciation!
Saturday was amazing. I love how God orchestrates things in ways even you can’t predict. Thank you for nomination for the blogger award. I appreciate you!