Rewind about six years. I was a junior in college, and went to a women's conference at the church I was attending. Some woman named Jen Hatmaker was speaking. I had no idea who she was or where she came from. But from the moment she got up to speak, I was hooked. Her honesty. Her heart. And her humor. I couldn't get enough. I bought a few of her books, and loved those too.
So I "followed" Jen for the next several years. I read her blog. Bought more of her books. She has a heart for the orphaned, and I followed her journey through adopting their youngest two children. Jen is just so relatable, you can't help but love her.
And then I started hearing these whispers of this whole "IF:Gathering" thing. I didn't know what it was exactly, but I knew if Jen was there, I wanted to be there too! Things fell into place, and the Lord made it possible for me, my sister & a friend from college to get to Austin for the weekend. The whole point of the weekend was to gather, equip, and unleash the next generation of women to live out their purpose. If God is real...then what? I left the If:Gathering feeling closer to the Lord than I've felt in a while. It was an incredible weekend jam packed with amazing speakers- some I knew, some I had never heard of before. But I left with what I felt was a good plan to pursue my purpose.
So what exactly IS my purpose?
Well, I'm still sort of figuring that part out.
But I do know what things make my heart hurt. I know that the Lord has given me a burden for justice. Specifically, justice for little children. When I see that things are wrong, I just can't be silent. When I see children that are not loved and cared for, I want to do whatever I can to protect those sweet little babies. I left Austin with plans to quit my job, make some drastic changes to our budget, and dive head first into the Safe Families Ministry that I care so much about.
And as passionate as I felt just a few short weeks ago...reality hit me hard when I got home. Right now, I can't quit my job. We can't take on more Safe Family kids. And I feel so stuck. So frustrated. So confused as to what the Lord wants for me right now. I want to be home with our sweet little girl. I want to be able to love on babies in my community who just want someone to hold them. We'll see what happens.
Philipians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
