Something new God is teaching me I thought I would share today is about being a mom and a woman in ministry. If I'm being really honest I can tell you I have been struggling trying to figure out what it looks like to be a stay at home mom. I am not a homebody. I like to be out and about. I certainly don't like to miss out on anything. And most of all I have prayed for a long time for God to use me in a mighty, powerful way. (Now, don't misunderstand, I don't care if that means I do something big and great or if it is something small and never recognized, I just want God to know I am here to serve him and want to be used by him to further his kingdom.) I am not trying to minimize the role of the stay at home mom either. I am just trying to figure out what it looks like for me. I am used to going 90mph and I find myself in a new place only having to go 30mph. I don't really know how to "stop and smell the roses" being that I am wired to be very task oriented, so there are lots of discoveries for me here and now.
I have been reading through Ruth and Samuel and God has been really teaching me some different ways that it might look to be used by him. If you look at the story of Ruth and the little bit you get from the life of Hannah what you see is that God used them in a mighty way and they may not have ever known it.
You know the story of Ruth...(If not, you can read it. It's the little, short book in the Old Testament titled, :) Ruth.) She had the opportunity to go home to her family, but stuck with her mother-in-law and saw God go ahead of her and provide for all her needs. She wound up being in the lineage of David, who in case you don't know was in the lineage of Jesus! Pretty big role to play, I'd say, but she had no idea. She just lived her life of honor each day not knowing how she was going to be used.
And Hannah is only mentioned briefly in the beginning of 1 Samuel as one of two wives to Elkanah. That alone is the start to trouble - 2 wives...Anyway, we find Hannah crying out to God because she has been tormented by not being able to have kids. She asks God to give her a son and in return she will give that son back to him. God answers her prayer and she follows through and hands the young boy over to the priest to be raised in service to God. I love in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah praises God for what he has done and honors him for his ability, recognizing that he is God! That son was Samuel who grows up to honor God and speaks for the Lord to all of Israel. Hannah, too had no idea how her life would play a mighty role in serving God, she just lived each day to honor him and God did some amazing things through her.
With all that said, I want to encourage any moms, working or not, that God just might be using you in a mighty way just by you being a mother and a woman of honor! So, in search of defining my role in ministry, my job is to do the best I can do to honor God today and teach my kids to do the same.
What speed do you feel like you are going? Do you find yourself focusing on how God might want to use you, or are you just serving him the best way you can where he has you today?
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