When a young woman in my church asked me to lead The Cry of the Hidden Heart study with her and her mother, although reluctant, I thought to myself, “This is good timing, because I’m not particularly busy during the summer months.” I told her yes and invited three other young moms from my church to attend. However, trying to work out the time and place and babysitting with six schedules became an absolutely impossible task and we were not able to set it up.
My response was entirely selfish. I thought “Whew … that was close. Anyway, I don’t really think I am equipped for it. After all, my gifts do not lie in leadership … I have the gift of administration and helps.”
In spite of my foot-dragging, God had other plans. He would not let me forget about these lovely women who wanted to know the truths about marriage as illuminated in The Cry of the Hidden Heart. He continued to urge me by bringing them to mind and calling me to obedience. I also felt a nudge to commit to personal Bible study this fall. My response was again very selfish and I tried not to relinquish my time to either one.
My life is excruciatingly busy in the last part of every year. Our family has eleven birthdays in the last four months, my work schedule is always heavy as I prepare to coordinate a January conference, and this year, I had the responsibilities of coordinating a conference in September and gaining two new clients. Of course, the regular family commitments with husband and two adult children at home fill up my days also. What a full plate!
Nevertheless, in God’s grace and through his gentle urging, I finally succumbed to His call. That is when the blessings began. I joined the weekly Bible study and am being strengthened and filled with God’s love on a weekly basis because of it.
I committed to leading The Cry of the Hidden Heart study. Amazingly, there were NO problems in arranging the schedules of six women. Surprisingly, God has given me an abundance of strength and wisdom to facilitate, and our small group has bonded together after just four weeks. We have had powerful times in prayer for each other and our families. Excitedly, I watch as one young lady has recognized that “thinking that she is smarter than her husband” is not necessarily a good thing. Another woman is beginning to understand principles that she had never seen even after 30-plus years of marriage. And, most exciting is watching a woman who was raised with legalism grow in her relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as she begins to understand how much He loves her.
It is hard for me to believe that I almost missed receiving all these blessings from God because I was “too busy and felt inadequate.” If God is wooing you to be a part of The Cry of the Hidden Heart by facilitating a class, I urge you to succumb to his glorious urgings. He made a way for me, because He is amazing, surprising and exciting.
Guest Blogger, Landreth Johnson