July 21, 2017
She’s On a Mission
Sometimes God leads people into your life to bless you and everyone around you. Sometimes you don’t get to see them all the time (Actually, you see them very rarely!), but you feel such a strong connection. Sometimes those people are in your life to encourage you and to be positive influences in your children’s lives.
One such blessing in our lives is an awesome friend, Stacy. (My girls all call her “Aunt Stacy.”) She has been a friend of our family for over eight years. She was at our house (and the only one with a camera) when Jillian was born, so she is the reason we have birth pictures of Jillian! (She’s a photographer so not only did we have pictures, but they were awesome pictures.) Stacy is a missionary. She has a blog where she writes a lot of interesting single-woman-missionary-related thoughts. These are so insightful and spot on. Christina started following her Aunt Stacy’s blog when she was about 10. Every day Stacy was in Zambia in 2014, Christina would ask, “Has Aunt Stacy written some more?” She updated everyone on her mission travels daily. (Or as she got internet connectivity) We’d read and Christina would journal about the verses Stacy referenced.
Stacy is a beautiful young woman. I’ve watched her confidence and strength grow as now she’s inspiring and mentoring my teen and preteens. Stacy has mentored other girls in person; she’s open, fun, and connects with them in a special way. (Rebeccah says “it’s because she’s real, her love shines.”) Recently, Christina said “look! Her quote is one of my favorites!” In the last blog, “Jesus is not my Boyfriend,” Stacy quoted C.S. Lewis saying “A woman’s heart should be so close to God that a man should have to chase Him to find her.” (This is one I’ve repeated many times in raising my young women – it’s also a favorite of mine.)
Even though we don’t get to visit in person as often as we’d like to, this wonderful young woman, a strong warrior of God, a vibrant passionate lover of Jesus, my sister-in-Christ, is such a blessing to our family. She is leading, encouraging, and sharing from her heart.
That is how we teach people. They say the best sermons you ever preach are the ones that are seen. We show people who we are, what we are passionate about, and who we love, by the actions they see. Online, you can’t really “see” people, but you can see the actions of what they are doing through the pictures and stories they show. (It helps if they are “real” to you; someone you’ve actually met, but that’s not necessary.) My children watch what I do. I can talk patience all day, but if I get irritated because the line at the grocery store is too long, all that talk just disappeared because obviously, I don’t “walk the talk.” When they see someone who has a huge heart for helping others and spreading God’s word and get to “follow” what she’s actually doing and read what she’s saying, it shows them that this person does “walk her talk” too.
I pray constantly to be the kind of person who “walks” my “talk.” I want to be someone others can look up to and be inspired by. This is why I write: writing is my passion, my love, my art. God gives us talents and gifts. He wants us to use them to encourage, inspire, teach, and love others. This is my goal.
I am so grateful for those in my family’s life who provide positive inspiration for us – some may not even know how deep of an impact they have on our lives – but if I can, I want to tell them! Stacy is such a blessing for us – it’s an honor to say she’s my friend.
Stacy writes about singleness, being “on a mission,” loving God, and everyday-Christian-woman challenges in her blog: www.thelivingone.blog.
Thanks for reading!
Type at you next time…
~Nancy Tart