Karen Bacon: Someone once said, “We make our plans and God laughs.” That pretty much sums up the outcome of my plans for my future. As a college student majoring in textiles and clothing, I had envisioned an exciting career in the fashion industry. That dream was put on the back burner, by my marriage to the love of my life, Bob Bacon, followed by the arrival of two little boys. Little did I know that one day my name would be on the cover of a book for women, The Cry of the Hidden Heart, Finding Fulfillment in Marriage.
As our sons were getting older, I attempted to re-kindle my dream by starting a wedding gown preservation business. But God continued to pursue me, drawing me more deeply into His word and into fellowship with some very special sisters in Christ—the Sarah’s Daughters. Eventually my passion for wedding gown preservation was converted into marriage preservation. It became very apparent to me that many of those brides whose dresses I had preserved had prepared well for the wedding, but were ill-equipped for the marriage.
This is a special season in my life as a widow. After having been more than blessed through our forty-eight years of marriage and having raised our two sons (now grown with families of their own), I am discovering the joy of walking closely with the Lover of my soul. Because I now have more discretionary time for Hidden Heart Ministry, it is my joy to do some writing and mentoring. But, perhaps my most favorite place to be is in the midst of a small group of women from all ages and stages of life as they begin to discover together the breadth, length, height, and depth of the Love that formulated the institution of marriage in the beginning.
Mary Suzanne Crockett: My name is Mary Suzanne Crockett (and yes, you have to say Mary and Suzanne together and no, I’m not from the South), and I am 50 years into a life distinguished by an amazing gift. For the over twenty years, week in, week out, I have sat at a kitchen table learning, wrestling, crying, and growing with a small group of older women who have a contagious love for Jesus and the Bible. In future entries, you will hear from these amazing friends who have taken their job description of Titus 2:3-5 to heart: Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
In that one little paragraph there is plenty for us to learn, wrestle with, cry over, and grow on! And that is what we will be doing in this blog for weeks, months and who knows, perhaps twenty years to come! You are invited to pull up a chair to our virtual kitchen table, and join us as we search God’s Word in our quest to become wives after God’s own heart.
Jackie Dunne is a Hidden Heart Ministry board member and gifted communicator and teacher for The Cry of the Hidden Heart. Jackie has been married for twenty years and is the mother of two teen sons. For nearly that long, Jackie juggled responsibilities for a growing family and a demanding career as a business executive. But God closed that chapter in her life, led her home, where she is now flourishing in this new season of her life.
Ruth Reynolds: I’ve been married almost three years and have two little ones – two girls! With a toddler and a new baby, I often find myself torn between giving my husband the attention he needs and being drawn away by the crying or whining that is hard to ignore. Finding energy and patience, amidst the eye-opening experience of having a baby before our first anniversary, has been humbling me: lots of tears and insomnia. On top of that, I’ve learned that my life’s pursuit of being a stay-at-home mom doesn’t fill me anymore than did my past non-profit administration job and abundance of free time! I feel honored to be able to share what God’s doing in my heart on the Hidden Heart Ministry blog as the opportunity comes my way!