Following God - It's a friendship thing!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Pro. 3:5-6

Three years ago, I stepped out of ministry. Really, I was forced to ride the bench for a season. Unfortunately, I had chosen to serve in ministry without giving God the time He deserved. I was serving selfishly, seeking affirmation where I could get it rather than address my daughter's developmental issues. Our home was falling apart as I served in greater and greater roles in ministry. Praise God for a friend who cared enough to confront!

In that season of rest, I moved out of coaching ministry to "merely attending" a small group. At first, I felt shame. How could I have gotten so out of whack. I was teaching the importance of right priorities and then not living it. Hypocrite!

But I serve a great God. God worked in my heart that season. He forgave me for ignoring Him. We spent a glorious season reconnecting - much like catching up with a long lost, yet dear, friend - it was an amazing time. Our family tackled Ellie's issues head on, and our fun, close-knit family began coming back.

God's purposes are always greater than ours. He wants a relationship with us, and He wants us to allow Him to have center stage so He can work through us in our relationships with others. Today, a full three years after my forced hiatus, God revealed something to me that I had never known.

Back then, I was focused on my healing, my restoration, my time with God. I wasn't serving anywhere in ministry. I thought I was in a season of rest. Wrong! God never wastes anything. When we are obedient to His ways, He uses our everyday life to impact others. We don't always know it. I learned today that God used my marriage, my faith, my humility, and my love for others to reach a friend in need when I felt like I had nothing to give. I had no idea the impact I had on her. I was just supporting a friend - not ministry, just friendship.

But that's God. His heart is that we spend time with Him so we can be there for each other. For our kids. For our friends. For people we don't even know yet. Ministering to one another in friendship - we grow closer to Him. I rejoice in my friend's life and how God is using her now. I thank Him, for using me even when I thought I was useless. I pray my life will always point others to the love of Jesus, and the hope that comes in having a personal, real, honest relationship with Him.