Women of Faith

This past weekend I was grateful to attend the Women of Faith conference in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, Jason went camping with a friend and wanted to take the camera...so, I have no great pictures to post. But I suppose this allows me to focus on content. When I got back home, Jason asked me what I learned. I racked my brain and thought "I don't think I learned anything new." I was encouraged and reminded of many truths important to women and Christians...faith, hope, promises of God. But the speakers actually did teach me something that I often overlook...everyone hurts. Each speaker (strong in their faith & walk with the Lord) had (or still is) experienced a deep wound - deep depression, loss of a child, loss of a spouse, family illness, sexual abuse, eating disorder, divorce. Each one of them had such an intense story, but yet each woman gained a wealth of wisdom and faith through their trials. I left thinking "If it takes pain to grow in faith, I don't want an easy life." Yikes! Maybe I'll one day regret that prayer, but for now, I know that real testimony and real ministry comes from real pain (and the willingness to go through real healing.)