I was twenty-eight years old the first time I heard God’s vision for motherhood. Nancy Leigh DeMoss was coming to my area for a brainstorming session with friends and ministry leaders. I had met Nancy once while doing research for a book project, and when I heard she was going to be in my neck of the woods, I invited myself to spend the afternoon with her (an invitation she graciously agreed to).
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the purpose of that gathering was for Nancy and her team to pray and dream about what would soon become the True Woman Conferences. I also didn’t know that I was pregnant. As I sat and listened to these women talk about re-casting a vision for womanhood that aligned with God’s Word, my heart and mind had conflicting reactions.
My educated, indoctrinated, me-centric brain scoffed. Would women of the new millennium ever consider a definition of motherhood that celebrated anything other than careers and equality across the board? I also secretly patted myself on the back for avoiding motherhood in the name of ministry. Surely that was the kind of choice a “true woman” would make!
But, my heart felt something entirely different. Something like relief. These women were saying I didn’t have to find my worth in my accomplishments and career. They were also saying that having children and directing my ministry efforts toward a family wasn’t settling for second best, and that God created me as a woman to reflect Him, not to draw attention to me. There was freedom and power in that possibility!
I came home from that meeting determined to find God’s heart on motherhood. That seeking led to finding. In the four years since that encounter, God has used His Word as well as the True Woman Conferences, the ministry of Revive Our Hearts, and friends like Nancy to show me that God’s vision for me as woman is different in ways that are more wonderful, more liberating, and more purposeful than anything the world has tried to sell me.
My worldview has been most radically shaken in the area of motherhood. I have changed from a woman who never wanted to have children because I wanted to have a “ministry” to a momma of two with a burning passion to show other moms that motherhood is a sacred role.
You may never have invited yourself to a meeting with Nancy, but my hunch is that her ministry has impacted your worldview, too. I’d love to hear about it. How has the ministry of Revive Our Hearts challenged your views of womanhood, motherhood, and ministry? How has True Woman encouraged and equipped you to use your womanhood to point others toward Christ?
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