She Knows.
Last weekend James River had a Designed Sisterhood Night and it was amazing! Then again, it's always amazing and any event James River has will likely change your life in some way if you let it.
I arrived just in time to hit the fajita food truck and then meet up with a few girls from church waiting at the front of the line for the doors to open. As the doors open the women began running to get good seats towards the front! The girls at our church are basically professionals when it comes to James River events. They know exactly where they like to sit and always rush to save enough seats. This year we brought a church van full of youth girls. As we walk into the auditorium there are flashing pink and yellow tiaras on every seat. It was like a princess strobe light party.
DawnChere Wilkerson was speaking and I LOVE HER. She is so cute with a high pitch voice and a sweet southern accent. What's not to love? Her message that night was titled, "She Knows." She asked, "What do you need to know in your heart tonight?" Her points were that she knows God is our strength, our song, and our salvation. Knowing that God is my strength is so difficult for me because I tend to do things in my own strength. I'm not sure where this idea comes from but it's viewed as a positive thing instead of a negative thing - being self-sufficient.
Self sufficiency means needing no outside help in satisfying one's basic needs or to be emotionally and intellectually independent. It sounds like a great thing, but it can be detrimental and give the illusion that perfection is possible. We can never not need anyone for the rest of our lives. That was a very confusing sentence but it's true. We were made to depend and rely upon God and each other because God uses specific individual people to help us when we need it. To get through your life not needing anyone's help to meet your needs is impossible. What's also unhealthy is to pretend we have no needs in the first place, which is where I can land sometimes.
After having a baby it's normal for everyone to oh and awe at the baby and ask how it's doing. Very rarely does anyone consider how the mom is doing. She's probably struggling to get sleep, find time to eat, rarely has time to make a hot meal, is riding the waves of an emotional roller coaster, and could be losing her sanity....at least that's how it feels. As a mom it's impossible to be self sufficient. I could not deny my needs that my arm is getting tired of holding her and help would be nice. I could not deny the lack of sleep and inviting someone over just so I can rest.
Our needs tell us we are human. Our needs allow us to depend on God and those friends and family he's surrounded us with to help us. In fact, in the Bible the Holy Spirit is called the "helper" for a reason. Eve was created by God as a "helper" for Adam. It's normal to need help sometimes, and the message that night helped me be okay with needing to depend on God's strength. The past few weeks I've remembered this and prayed during those tiring late night feedings and I can barely keep my eyes open or when she cries and I simply don't know what to do or I've exhausted all my options. At the conclusion of her message she was speaking directly to new moms and a youth girl from our group looks at me directly. I nodded because I knew she was speaking to my heart.
As DawnChere said, "What do you need to know in your heart tonight?" It's something to think about and something to experience. My favorite quote from the night was to "surrender your strength" and "He's not waiting for your strength, he's waiting for you to surrender to his."
I'm looking forward to what God has in store for the Designed for Life Conference in October when DawnChere is speaking again! :)
I arrived just in time to hit the fajita food truck and then meet up with a few girls from church waiting at the front of the line for the doors to open. As the doors open the women began running to get good seats towards the front! The girls at our church are basically professionals when it comes to James River events. They know exactly where they like to sit and always rush to save enough seats. This year we brought a church van full of youth girls. As we walk into the auditorium there are flashing pink and yellow tiaras on every seat. It was like a princess strobe light party.
DawnChere Wilkerson was speaking and I LOVE HER. She is so cute with a high pitch voice and a sweet southern accent. What's not to love? Her message that night was titled, "She Knows." She asked, "What do you need to know in your heart tonight?" Her points were that she knows God is our strength, our song, and our salvation. Knowing that God is my strength is so difficult for me because I tend to do things in my own strength. I'm not sure where this idea comes from but it's viewed as a positive thing instead of a negative thing - being self-sufficient.
Self sufficiency means needing no outside help in satisfying one's basic needs or to be emotionally and intellectually independent. It sounds like a great thing, but it can be detrimental and give the illusion that perfection is possible. We can never not need anyone for the rest of our lives. That was a very confusing sentence but it's true. We were made to depend and rely upon God and each other because God uses specific individual people to help us when we need it. To get through your life not needing anyone's help to meet your needs is impossible. What's also unhealthy is to pretend we have no needs in the first place, which is where I can land sometimes.
After having a baby it's normal for everyone to oh and awe at the baby and ask how it's doing. Very rarely does anyone consider how the mom is doing. She's probably struggling to get sleep, find time to eat, rarely has time to make a hot meal, is riding the waves of an emotional roller coaster, and could be losing her sanity....at least that's how it feels. As a mom it's impossible to be self sufficient. I could not deny my needs that my arm is getting tired of holding her and help would be nice. I could not deny the lack of sleep and inviting someone over just so I can rest.
Our needs tell us we are human. Our needs allow us to depend on God and those friends and family he's surrounded us with to help us. In fact, in the Bible the Holy Spirit is called the "helper" for a reason. Eve was created by God as a "helper" for Adam. It's normal to need help sometimes, and the message that night helped me be okay with needing to depend on God's strength. The past few weeks I've remembered this and prayed during those tiring late night feedings and I can barely keep my eyes open or when she cries and I simply don't know what to do or I've exhausted all my options. At the conclusion of her message she was speaking directly to new moms and a youth girl from our group looks at me directly. I nodded because I knew she was speaking to my heart.
As DawnChere said, "What do you need to know in your heart tonight?" It's something to think about and something to experience. My favorite quote from the night was to "surrender your strength" and "He's not waiting for your strength, he's waiting for you to surrender to his."
I'm looking forward to what God has in store for the Designed for Life Conference in October when DawnChere is speaking again! :)
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 15:1-2, ESV
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