YOU are on Women’s Ministry?!

YOU are on Women’s Ministry?!

Yes, that is a typical response I get when I tell people where I’m going on a Monday night for my Women’s Ministry meeting. To be completely honest, I’ve looked in the mirror and responded the same way to the reflection staring back at me: YOU are on Women’s Ministry?! I HATE the color pink, I fall asleep during Gilmore Girls, and I cannot stand having my finger nails painted so why would I ever want to be on team that fosters and promotes femininity? The simple answer is because femininity doesn’t mean you have to be super-duper girly and plaster your walls with posters of pink unicorns (if your dorm room does look like that, I don’t mean to offend you.  I applaud you because that is so awesome…but that’s just not my style). True femininity is so much deeper.

If you had asked me a year ago if I wanted to be on Women’s Ministry, I would have probably (rudely) laughed in your face—I wear snapbacks, white V-necks and Nike running shorts as an outfit out.  I never thought that I would be on this ministry. I never thought I would love femininity and everything that goes with that Truth.

Sooooooo….what happened? How did I switch from making fun of it to being on core team?

God.

God happened.

Last fall, I found myself in a bit of an identity crisis. I didn’t know who I was, what I was, or what I was worth (or if I was worth anything). I had just gone through a break-up and I wasn’t dealing with it the best. I actually wasn’t dealing with it at all. I had become so accustomed to numbness being the only emotion I felt when anything fell apart in my life. I had always believed that if you can’t feel anything, you can’t be hurt. I basically just had this giant wall up around my heart where nothing could get in and hurt me, but also nothing could get out.  Around September, applications for a retreat called Capture My Heart were out, and I just knew I had to go. [I secretly actually wanted to go but was too afraid to tell anyone.] I applied and was accepted. I remember the day of departure for the retreat, I was FREAKING OUT and almost backed out but I had already paid for it; so to avoid wasting the money, I figured I’d just go.

I wish I could tell you everything that happened on that retreat so that you could more fully understand the radical feminine transformation I went through in just three days, but I want you all to go on the retreat and experience the mystery and conversion for yourself. Let’s just say the Lord wrecked my life in the most joyful way possible.  I hate to use clichés but he absolutely captured my heart and I knew who I was, what I was, and what I was worth. (What’s interesting is that the answer to those three questions is all in scripture.)

Who I am: “I am my beloved’s and His desire is for me”-Song of Songs 7:10

What I am: “You are all beautiful my beloved, and there is no flaw in you.”-Song of Songs 4:7

My worth: “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that [you] who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life”-John 3:16

But back to the original question of the switch and why I am on Women’s Ministry:

The switch was that I found my identity in Christ as his beloved daughter and no one can take that from me—no harsh words, no biting rumor, not even the devil himself. Jesus’s feelings towards me—the love He has for me—doesn’t change. Whether we have heard these words a thousand times or never heard them at all, Jesus Christ died for you because you are worth it.

So, why I am on Women’s Ministry?

The world tells us that our worth and identity are defined by what we do, and femininity is synonymous with weakness. Well, both of these are bold face LIES.

Your identity is who you are, what you are, and what you are worth in Christ…and knowing who you are sounds like strength to me.

Knowing your identity, your true identity as a woman is the root of femininity. From there, it expands and grows and deepens so much (but that is for another blog).

I am on Women’s Ministry because I let the world tell me who I was and what I was worth for most of my life. I am on Women’s Ministry to fight that lie with the Truth…all while wearing my snapback, white V-neck, and Nike running shorts.  I’m here to share my story.  I’m here to serve and pray for each and every one of you on this campus. What’s awesome is that I’m not alone either. We have a whole team of ladies with their own unique stories and reasons for being on Women’s Ministry and are fighting for you. We’re all here for you. We’re all praying for you.

 “Each of us is willed. Each of us is loved. Each of us is necessary.”—Pope Benedict XVI

"The nation doesn’t simply need what we have [or do]. It needs what we are."—St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (aka Edith Stein)

That’s all I got right now. Peace out!

Lacy