A story about how one decision in 2017 changed my whole life

No exaggeration.

Picture this: it's the sweltering summer of 2017, and I'm about to dive headfirst into the wild world of Women's Ministry leadership at my church. That is a whole story right there because, as it turns out, I'm not your typical "women's ministry" kind of girl.

My first encounter with women’s ministry was as an 18-year-old college student, where our "ladies' auxiliary" hosted an annual "tea." I didn’t attend, mainly because all I could envision was College Student Sandy stepping into a time capsule filled with doilies, pastel-colored dresses, and an overwhelming scent of Earl Grey.

That image ruined me.

So, for the next three decades, I only attended women’s ministry events when I was asked to speak. That is, until the Lord called me to lead the Women’s Ministry at my church.

That day in 2017, as I walked up my driveway sorting through the mail, I spotted a postcard advertising the Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum–an annual conference for women in leadership.

Since I had zero experience in women’s ministry, I was the first to admit that I much to learn about serving and loving women.

I registered for the conference.

A few months later, after driving the three hours to Nashville, I stood in the lobby with my swag bag and my conference agenda eager to select my breakout sessions. Scanning the myriad of options, I landed on this: Kelly Minter, “Abiding in Christ.”

Yay!

Not “yay” because I wanted to learn about abiding in Christ. But “yay” because I love Kelly Minter! I had just finished leading two of her Bible studies with women in my home, and I was hoping to thank her personally. And also, take a selfie.

Thursday afternoon at 4 pm, I found the conference room, selected my seat, flipped open my notebook, found John 15 in my Bible, and waited for her to begin.

But what happened in the next 40 minutes I can only describe as God reaching out to me, gently holding my face with His loving hands, looking me in the eye heart, and whispering, “LISTEN TO HER.”

You guys.

I scribbled notes so quickly that I could barely read them. I went back to my room that night and read them again. Then I went home and reread John 15. Again and again. Then I backed up and read all of the Gospel of John, again and again and again.

I started geeking out on the whole vinedresser/vineyard/vine/branch metaphor.

I watched YouTube videos on proper pruning techniques.

I devoured books and commentaries on John 15.

Abide became my word for 2018.

Then Abide became my word for the rest of my life.

Understanding and embodying the concept of abiding in Christ has transformed me. No other decision, not even the momentous choice to surrender my life to Jesus as a teen, has influenced me as profoundly. I am not the same person I was before I learned to abide in Christ and allow Him to abide in me.

I share everything I learned about abiding in Christ in a podcast series on The Balanced MomCast. To make listening more convenient, I've put together a Spotify playlist for you. This will allow you to easily start listening to the episodes in succession by simply pressing the play button. I included in the playlist a two-part interview I did with Kelly Needham where we talked about abiding in Christ together. You can listen to the entire playlist here.