You are Not Alone
Last week I was able to attend the World Missions Summit and I have to admit that the week turned out much differently than I expected. I was nothing short of shocked at how many people knew me from this blog. I don’t care how many people know me from my blog, the shocking thing to me was that some of the girls told me that this is the only place anyone is tell them, “You can.”
The point of this is not letting you know people are reading my blog. If you are reading this, that is obvious to you. The point is the conversation I had with a young woman named Mary.
She is brilliant and brave and a pioneer. And as we sat and talked, I shared with her some ideas of how I can do better at coming alongside young women in ministry.
She fought it because she’s like me – tough and independent and all – so she fought it, but the tears came. “I just need to know I’m not alone,” she said. My own eyes burned as tears spilled from her eyes. “I feel so alone,” she repeated.
Through this blog I am getting to hear some of your stories. Weeks like last week I’m getting to meet you and talk to you and hear your heart. And I want you to know, I want you to hear it, I want you to ingest this: you are not alone.
If you feel like you’re the only woman in the world who worries you got it wrong thinking you were called to leadership, you are not alone. We are here.
If you feel like a fool for thinking you have something to offer, you are not alone, kid.
If you feel like you’re the only woman in the world who wants something different – whose dream isn’t to have a house and babies – you are not alone.
If your heart feels like it’s going to burst when you dream for ministry, you are not alone. We are out there.
I know sometimes it feels like you are all alone. It will feel like that more often than not. Ministry is lonely, and being a minority in ministry is even more lonely. Hear that – when you feel lonely, you are normal.
I know it’s hard, dear. I know you want to quit sometimes. Please, love, please don’t quit.
You know why I want you to stay? For the little girls. For the little girls who can come to church on a Sunday and see a woman who has fire in her bones. Stay so they can see you. Stay to normalize it for them. Stay so that when they are the ones doing ministry, they will know they are not alone. Stay because their mommas are praying for a woman like you to teach their daughters how to lead.
We are here. Women who are leading. Women who are not afraid of people telling us we can’t. Women who are learning how to have a voice. You may not know us now, but you will find us. Slowly, as we did, you will find women who have the same passions you do.
In the meantime? Know that those of us in the trenches now fight for you. We believe in you. We need you. I heard from so many girls last week – so many girls that are just like you. Girls that are called to ministry, girls that need to know they can, girls who need to know they are not alone.
You are not the first to feel this way. You will not be the last. You are right on time.
And you are not alone.