My Beginning

Before I can truly begin to share my heart with you about how to become a Wise Woman of Worth, I need to share with you when my relationship with the Lord began.  Some may think I don't have a spectacular story. In fact, some may say that my story is really pretty original. I was born into a Christian home. I had Christian parents, grandparents, friends. I was in church every single time the doors were open, except on the not-so-rare occasion (I was a sick little girly) that I was running a fever or puking my guts up.  While some may accuse me of what may seem to be a very Sunday School-ish story, what my Savior did for me on March 25, 2000 was anything but menial.

The Lord really began to work on me several years before I actually came to Him. I made a profession of faith when I was in first grade, then again in third grade--"just to make sure I was going to Heaven"--and then I finally fully turned my heart over to him when I was in fifth grade. Looking back now, I know that those earlier times of conviction were prepping my heart for true surrender. While I knew all the information I needed to know to be saved, I didn't allow the Lord to have control until that night in March.

While the Lord had been dealing with me for years, heavy conviction came a few months prior to my final surrender. Being a P.K., we got to be apart of some very interesting Saturday activities. One of these special activities was going to funerals of people that my dad knew, but I didn't. Little did I know, but the Lord was going to use this the end of this woman's life to make me more alive than ever.  As I sat in that funeral, I truly felt that this deep conviction I'd been feeling for weeks was driving me to Christ. If you've ever been under conviction of the Holy Spirit, you know that it is not a fun feeling. It's so necessary, but it is definitely not fun. Imagine a weight pressing in on your chest that cannot be removed, no matter how hard you try to get rid of it yourself. All I knew as I sat there is that I wanted these feelings gone. They were scary, uncomfortable, and made me feel more than just a little "off."  I vividly remember sitting in the pew at this funeral feeling like every breath I took would be my last. I would inhale and beg God to allow me to exhale. It really was a surreal experience...it's like I could feel my skin burning, see myself being cast into Hell because I truly didn't know the Lord. That night I prayed and asked the Lord into my heart. I fully surrendered my heart to Him and became a new person right then and there. And poof--all my troubles were gone, right? I was instantaneously this perfect, little, goody-two-shoes-girl? Wrong. Life was just beginning for me.

I never had a problem believing that Jesus was Lord, and even though he was my Savior and worked in my life, it took some growing up on my part before I truly saw how wonderful, and frankly, flabbergasting His mercy and blessings really are.

I think the biggest part of my testimony is when God really began to reveal himself to me when I was in college. Adam and I were married halfway through our college careers. We were both working part-time jobs and going to school full-time. We had many people advise us against getting married so young and while we still had half of college facing us. There were questions of how we would be able to survive on what little we made, on top of pay for school while racking up as little debt as possible, but we truly felt that we were getting married when God wanted us to, and that He would somehow provide. During those last two years of college, the Lord gave us more than we could have even imagined. He provided new jobs, raises, and even allowed me to quit working for a time so I could focus on student teaching. He then gave us both full-time jobs immediately after we graduated. 

Through those two years, I came to the conclusion that for God to really, truly bless His children, we must be completely and utterly willing to follow him. There were times throughout those years that He would convict us to give at church or to someone in need. We wouldn't know how we were going to pay for groceries, rent, or car insurance, but all we knew to do was give if He laid it on our hearts. The Lord always, always, ALWAYS provided above and beyond in those situations. A check would come out of nowhere, someone would offer to take us out to eat, someone would pay for our gas, or even send us a check telling us to pay our rent with it. It would never cease to amaze me that the Lord could and would provide in those awesome ways.

As I've moved past those days, I still continue to see God's hand on my life. He guides my steps. Every. Single. Day. In those days and the days following, I've seen the true need for wisdom in all decisions and in the everyday mundane of living this life. The first day's study will focus on this desperate need for wisdom. Understanding this is truly the foundation for becoming a Wise Woman of Worth.  So please, I invite you on this journey with me, as we dive into God's word to see what He says about the web of wisdom and womanhood.