I Have A Story…

I don’t know how many times I listen to an amazing testimony and wish that I had some GREAT story to tell; how I was so far away from God and He rescued me from all my sin and shame. But then I look over my life and to me there has never been a GREAT story. I got married when I was 20, didn’t have sex outside of marriage, never been drunk, never smoked and I have been a Christian since I was 4 or 5. Most people might look at my story and say you are so blessed that you didn’t have to go through those things, but I look at my story and say how am I suppose to minister to people if I don’t have a GREAT story? I never felt like I could really reach people if I didn’t have a GREAT story. Do I have the perfect story? No! Do I have the perfect marriage? No! Am I the perfect mom? No! But I know that I’m not the only one that feels this way, so that doesn’t make my story any different from the next person. I felt like I needed a story that stood out so God could really use me effectively. How was God supposed to use me, if my story wasn’t any different then the next person?

In the last 3 months the Lord has really been speaking to me that I don’t need a GREAT story to minister to others. The Lord didn’t give me a GREAT story (or at least my idea of a GREAT story), but I still have a story and I am supposed to share that with others. The Lord spoke these words to me “Stop being afraid to share what I have and am doing in your life, be real and honest. People will give you back what you give them.” If I want to impact others then I need to be honest, so that people feel like they can be honest with themselves and me. The Lord has written my story and to Him it is a GREAT story; a story to share, and a story to encourage. Who am I to say my story isn’t good enough, my story won’t win souls for Christ, and my story won’t minister to people? The Lord wants to use me and probably has wanted to use me for a while, but was I listening? No, I was worried about not having a GREAT story. Now I am praying that the Lord shows me how to use my story to minister to others and that He will bring ladies to me that I can reach, teach and pray for. I want to use my story for God, no matter how GREAT or simple I think my story is.

A bit of my story…

2 ½ years ago my husband and I started a newlyweds small group with some couples from our church, we had such a rough couple of years that our heart was to help newly married couples have successful starts to their marriages. It amazes me how God has really ministered to me while we were ministering to these couples. I know that my marriage was not the best, especially in the first couple years, but I knew that we had grown and things were better. But after ministering to theses couples for about 2 years the Lord really showed me what the root was of those really rocky couple of years. I had very little respect for my husband as the head of the house and it showed in every aspect of our marriage. There is a reason God says wives respect your husbands and it took me a few years to really understand what that meant and how to do that. Trust me it wasn’t an easy road and it was a very humbling one, but now I can say, whole-heartily, that I respect my husband for the man that he is, the man God has created him to be. After realizing what the root issue was for us during those years, God has given me a few opportunities to share some of the troubles that we dealt with because I didn’t respect my husband. Did I ever think the Lord would use that to minister to others? No, because to me it wasn’t part of a GREAT story. It was just me being human and not following the Lord’s instructions for my marriage. Through that last couple of months I have learned it is not my job to decide if my story is worth telling, BUT is my job to listen to the Lord and be ready to share my story when He instructs me to do so. My life may be a simple story in my eyes, but I know the Lord is using it for His kingdom and that is what matters.

Please don’t be afraid to tell your story because I can guarantee there is someone out there that needs to hear it!!!

Jeremiah 10:23

I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.