A few weeks ago there was a guest speaker at church who challenged people to step out of our comfort zones in faith that God can use us in our most vulnerable times. At the end of her sermon she asked people to stand up if they wanted to take a step of faith. I debated about standing up. I like being comfortable, I don't like being vulnerable around people I don't necessarily know or trust. I know that God can use me in ways I could never imagine, but I have always been one to keep things on the safe side. In the end I stood up and told God that I would be willing, but please in small steps. I was thinking of a baby step of faith, not a leap of faith.
A day or two after this particular Sunday Jason and I got an email from Leyton asking us if we would be willing to share in a couple of weeks on serving love in the marriage sermon series that they were going to start. My first reaction was, I can't do that. I can't get up in front of 6-800 people and tell them about my marriage. I am no public speaker...
When Leyton initially started telling us about the marriage series they would be starting, I thought that would be a great thing. Six secrets to a lasting love, based on a book by Dr Gary and Barb Rosberg. When he mentioned that he would be having a couple come up each Sunday for the six weeks to share their experiences with each of the loves described, I was quite intrigued. I always enjoy when he has people come up and share their stories of how God has impacted their lives in different ways. But when he asked if we would be willing to share I sort of froze. But very quickly God changed my heart and I thought, hmmm, maybe we do have a story to tell. And maybe I am not a public speaker, but what better place to open your heart than to a group of people who are supportive, caring and nonjudgmental. Maybe this isn't such a terrible thing. So I started to consider what I might like to say.
Over the last couple of days Jason and I wrote down our thoughts. We decided to share a bit about how we met, how we serve each other, and how we continue to serve when serving isn't easy. I think we had some good things to say, but as this morning loomed I wondered if what we were saying would impact anyone. I wondered if what we were going to share sounded genuine. We didn't make any of it up, it's all true, but those were the thoughts going through my head. As we got up to speak at the first service this morning I was a little nervous, but not as bad as I thought it might be. I did alright with my presentation. I stumbled over a few words, but we got a few laughs, and I felt even more prepared in the second service. After each service we had a number of people come up to us and tell us how much our story blessed and touched them. A few said it was a very powerful story. Just makes you realize that even when you don't feel like you are the right person for the job, if God tells you to do it, He'll make it work out.
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