Some of you who know me well will find it amusing that I may use a "sewing" analogy in sharing what God is teaching me.... I will be the first to admit that in our home, Christian is in charge of the mending (including sewing on buttons). But, I have been surrounded by missionaries who love to sew in my time here in Mexico and a bit of sewing knowledge has rubbed off on me. I know what a pattern is - and I know that you can go into a store sift through hundreds of packages of patterns until you find one you want to duplicate. Lets say you want to make a dress - you find the dress pattern you are looking for and then you purchase the material and you follow the pattern exactly to reproduce the dress.
I was so challenged this morning as I listened to a podcast by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and she likened our spiritual lives to these sewing patterns. If the women in our lives that we mentor, teach, raise (picture your daughters) were to go into a store to purchase a pattern for the abundant Christian life would you want them to chose your life... and then to duplicate it exactly? Are you (am I?) living your life in a way that you want the women you love most dearly to copy it completely? Nancy challenged her listeners by asking, what if all of the women you are working with never surpassed your life but just fully copied it... if they spoke, served, ate, ministered, loved exactly the way you do? If their relationship with Jesu, with their spouses, with their kids were just like yours? How would you feel about that?
Her point is an amazing one. The truth is that as Christian women we have an obligation and responsibility to teach other women. And even if you are not in front of a class or in a formal mentoring role YOUR life is being watched and observed (especially by those who live in your home).
Are there any flaws in your pattern? Are there areas that you need to submit to the Lord and obey Him in? Jesus convicted my heart about some ways I need to become more like Him and I am so excited to continue to grow more and more like my Savior! Ask Jesus to examine your heart as well dear friend...... Let's be examples of the Christian life that will bring glory and honor to Jesus when copied by other women!
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2 comments:
I so needed to read this! Hope you all are doing well! You and your family are in my prayers. :-)
Robin, I just wanted to let you know that you have been and still are a big "pattern" for my life. You and your family helped me to see what it means to be a follower of Jesus, not a christian. You have shown me what it looks like to be a godly women, a devoted wife, and loving mother. You know I love my family very much but these are things that i was never tought. Thank you for letting me walk with your family for the time that i had with you. I still consider you as part of my family, and hope our paths cross again. for more than just a visit. Donita
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