What I got to share at a Women's Retreat

Notes for women’s retreat talk

God's Abundant Gifts/ Celebrating the Seasons of Our Lives!/ Story of Faith

Psalm 19:14 “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
 be pleasing in your sight, 
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Good morning! My name is Karen Dawson. This morning, I am going to tell you a bit about my spiritual journey, introduce you to a friend of mine who I consider to be a hero of faith, reflect on a scripture passage from Matthew 16, and tie together my thoughts.  So first, let me tell you a little bit about myself:

I grew up in New Mexico as a Christian in a non-denominational church. As early as high school, I recognized my “cardinal” sins – pride and judgment.

One of my favorite books that deals with this subject, Repenting of Religion: (subtitled) Turning from Judgment to the Love of God by Gregory Boyd says:

“The goal of creation is for people to participate in the eternal love of the triune God. How we do this is not by performing good deeds, successfully conquering certain sins, holding all the right theological opinions, or becoming ‘religious’ people. These may be bi-products of the change in reality that takes place in us, but they are not the cause of the change. We participate in the eternal love of the Trinity by allowing ourselves to be placed in Christ by faith. It is simply a matter of saying yes to God’s desire to relate to us.” (pg 38)

Back to my story, I went to college at a Christian liberal arts university in Arkansas where I studied social work and family ministry, and I am married to Mark who is in his last semester at UT law school.

After college and before I was married, I lived in Zambia for two and a half years, where I was a missionary, teaching American kids and discipling street kids, who had been kicked out of their homes or run away and were surviving by begging in the city. I was just as surprised as anyone that I ended up in Africa, and even working with teenage boys who are addicted to sniffing glue! I have lived a very blessed life, but hadn’t grown up thinking I’d be a missionary. At times I was a bit anxious about

Luke 12:48, which says “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Maybe that’s one explanation of why God called me to Africa where the discomforts of life are a bit more prevalent than in the US. Although I’d never been to Africa before, in 2007, I moved to Zambia, and it changed my life.

For one thing, that’s where I met Ruth, a Zambian lady who’s a few years older than I am and who became my best friend. I’m going to share some of her story, starting with what she wrote to me recently: “My sister, it’s time for me to tell people what God has done in my life. The time has come for me to tell the world what God has done! They need to know that we serve a mighty, powerful God. What he has done for me, he can do it for them too.”

History: Ruth had grown up without parents, moving around among extended family members, eventually landing in her sister’s home. She still has only a ninth grade education. At 16, just after choosing to give her life to Jesus, she became pregnant by rape and became suicidal. Because of a number of complexities, mostly cultural, Ruth did not tell the people at her church that she had been raped. She became an object of gossip at her church as a young mother with a child and no one to provide for them.

When I met Ruth, her daughter, Gina, was 7 years old. The three of us were housemates for a year, and the way Ruth lived her life amazed and challenged me. I would hear her up praying in the middle of the night. She was so involved with neighbors who were in difficult situations and was a powerful mother figure and preacher to the street kids we worked with. She has had many health issues, possibly caused by the rape: painful menstrual cycles, surgeries, uterine cancer… Funny story: one time, I picked her up after a surgery. She was still under anesthetics, and she said “Karen, is that really you? I will know it’s you if you’re wearing a headband.” I realized one of the ways I was coping with the ruggedness of Africa was by wearing my hair tucked back in a headband everyday!

Through these and so many more hardships, Ruth has trusted God to defend and provide for her and her daughter. She lives by Matthew 6:33 which says “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

2008

Last semester, my husband was studying at a university in southern Africa, and by God’s providence, Ruth and Gina were living in the same city so we got to reconnect!

Now: Gina is a beautiful teenage girl with incredible potential, Ruth has found her passion in doing women’s ministry. Her message is simple. She wrote: “God has laid something big on my heart. He told me ‘Ruth, it’s not about you; it’s about the souls that are out there.’ God has been teaching me how to be humble and to serve others. It’s not me time; it’s others. God wants me help others. Remember, my sister, God is faithful to you. The Bible says you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Joshua 1:7-8 ‘Be strong and courageous.’ Don’t worry about anything; pray about everything. Don’t allow the devil to steal the joy that God has given to you, my sister.  He makes us focus on ourselves. This joy I have, the world didn’t give to me.”

Ruth isn’t perfect. She’s a lot like me. We had normal conflicts when we lived together, like how late was okay for playing music and whether I had told her I didn’t have my key so not to lock the door. She yells at her daughter and gets scared. She’s a normal, sinful human, but God has given her a much harder cross to bear than many of us and He’s given her the faith to follow Him in the midst of hard stuff. [Picture]

During my first week in Zambia, Ruth and I went on a walk after dinner. It was dark, and the road was in bad condition with lots of potholes. My eyes couldn’t see the potholes, so I was walking very slowly. Her eyes had adjusted and she walked much quicker than I because she knew where they were. God calls us to different places and experiences. He gives us what we need and the grace to sustain us in the unique circumstances He calls us to.

2013

Matt 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.’”

There are a few things I want to pull out of Ruth’s story, overlap with my story, and challenge you with.

We each have our own role in the Body of Christ. Of course, we are all to bring glory to God, but it looks differently from person to person. We must be doing what he has uniquely called us to. Ruth’s testimony resonates deeply with some people who wouldn’t even want to talk to me. Likewise, I am able to talk to people who would, to their own detriment, brush her off as uneducated and therefore not worth listening to. We must each take up our own cross.

Coming from a person who struggles with perfectionism and judging, I’ve found helpful understanding in looking at the different stages in our faith journeys. Examples of these stages are recognition of God, discipleship, productivity, inward journey, outward journey and life of love. Often depending on how long a person has been following Christ, their life will look differently from mine. Some people go through the same stage a few times throughout their lives. God is leading each of us in our own spiritual timeline. We must not judge others because they are called to different things or at different times than we are.  This means accepting denominational differences and working for unity within the church body here in our relationships at St. Richards and in the church worldwide!) BUT that doesn’t mean sacrificing truth for grace; where Scripture is explicit, we must stand firm even if it is unpopular.

As God has given us unique strengths and life experiences, he enables us to do the things he calls us to and his Grace is sufficient for our weakness. (2 Cor 12:9-10) we may not have a life of convenience and ease. We may be unpopular. We are called to take up our cross.

As women, we are especially prone to comparing ourselves with others, physically, in our housekeeping or professional lives, how we parent, and just about every other possible subject. When I lived in Zambia, many ladies at my sending church would compare themselves to me and say “Oh, I could never do that!” and put me on a pedestal of which I was NOT worthy. When we look at what others are doing (even good people, even missionaries) and try to emulate what they are doing instead of their relationships with God, we compromise our own calling. We are not all meant to be Amy Carmichal or Mother Teresa. But we can learn from the way they loved people where God put them. We can sharpen each other by sharing stories and learning from similar situations or mistakes.

As CHRISTIAN women, we are free to to remember that our success is not based on how we measure up to anyone else but it’s about our being faithful to God and obedient to what He’s told us to do, what He’s called us to.

Some of you who know Mark and I are asking about our future. We are living in a season of faith and hope, waiting on God to show us what comes after law school as we pursue our callings.