I can’t honestly remember my first interaction with Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) in Acts 9. What I do know is her service to the widows in Joppa profoundly influenced me deeply.
She loved and served the widows of her town so much that upon her death, she was deeply mourned by so many. The influence Tabitha had on the widows carried through to Peter! So much so that Peter raised her from the DEAD!
Tabitha’s love and service carried through countless generations to this small-town girl from Pennsylvania and has been a lasting influence on my life. She is an ever-present reminder for caring for others. She met simple needs and served as an encouragement to women who had been devastated by loss on many levels!
I knew I wanted to serve like Tabitha- to have that kind of impact on those around me! That’s how I want to be remembered- a selfless servant!
It’s Your Turn: Has someone served in such a way that made you say “I want to be like them!”?
Thie very influential Proverbs 31 Woman could also be called,” the one who almost influenced me right out of getting married!!”
NO JOKE!
A few short weeks before getting married I decided it would be a great idea to read a book on the famed and highly sought-after Proverbs 31 woman. What resulted was me in an anxious ball of tears feeling like I just would never cut it as this perfect wife. There was no way in God’s green earth I could ever achieve that status.
After my very patient fiance talked me off the proverbial ledge, we decided that I was to stop reading that book IMMEDIATELY! We would resume it together AFTER we were married!
The Real Problem
The problem WASN’T the Proverbs 31 woman though-. It really stemmed from faulty teaching both in my teenage /college years and this book I had decided to read. It was where lots of older women sent younger women to “teach” them how to be a woman worth more than rubies. The problem- IT’S NOT A REAL WOMAN!!! And it was NEVER intended for women!
This was a teaching tool used by King Lemuel’s mom. She used each letter of the Jewish alphabet to teach her SON what to look for in a woman to marry! Not many people teach the truth about Proverbs 31. Instead, we use it as some biblical checklist to attain wifely perfection. Yes, we can learn a great deal from her.
But we need to remember that she is an IDEAL!
Out of this, I have a bonus influential person for you:
As a teacher/ writer I have to be careful HOW I handle God’s word. It’s a hefty responsibility talked about in 2 Timothy 214-16 and James 3:1.
Teachers/ writers/Speakers….PLEASE I beg you PLEASE take James 3:1 to heart! Readers and consumers of Christian content- check what you read with scripture! Be careful WHAT you consume.
It wasn’t all that long ago that I was reviewing a book where the author was GROSSLY misrepresenting a book from the Bible. The sad thing was in the preface of the book the author said that she was untrained so she could handle the Bible however she wanted. Just because we aren’t trained doesn’t mean we get a pass to do what we please. If we have a platform we have to be EXTRA careful to rightly handle God’s word as 2 Timothy says. Notice how I said EXTRA careful! Even if we aren’t teaching or writing we still need to be careful how we handle God’s word. NO ONE gets a pass!
Sadly we don’t have to look very far to find these negative influences who are misinterpreting God’s word.
It’s Your turn
Have you ever read anything by an author that mishandled God’s word and what happened when you gained the right understanding? (This doesn’t mean someone preached or taught something you didn’t like)
Powerfully influential women mark my life. Without these women (both godly and negatively) I would not be where I am today! Today we are going to talk about the very first powerfully influential woman in my life.
Ruth and I met when I was a teenager. I read the Bible book named after her and her journey. It was the very first Bible book I had read in its entirety, on my own.
Frustration often leads to growth… if you let it.
I read the book with much frustration!
My Sunday school teachers and Youth leaders would constantly tell us that we needed to do our devotions every day, but they never told us how. So I read the book closed my bible ad had no idea what I read.
It was in that frustration that I cracked open my Bible again and all the times after that and it is what caused me to return to Ruth time and again. Hindsight, my motivation perhaps wasn’t the best (I was trying to check the Christian boxes) but it is what drove me to seek God…
I read her story and it made no sense but I had no direction. The frustration churned in my heart. I wanted to give up but there was this nagging deep in my heart that I must keep trying. I stuck with Ruth, revisiting her frequently. She was my first truly influential friend, even though I had never met her in person. I was fascinated by her courage and faithfulness.
A woman who was more than likely gossiped about and maybe even poked fun at and most definitely frowned upon. I was in awe of her faithfulness both to Naomi(her mother-in-law) and a God of a nation that was not her own.
Over the years Ruth has taught me many things, like what it really is to be faithful- even in the middle of my very uncomfortable circumstances., courage to d what is right, and to step out in faith when I don’t understand the new “customs” (aka the New Normal).
Ruth Challenged me to trust God on a deeper level, choosing obedience despite not knowing the outcome.
Perhaps most importantly- how to have laser focus on obedience to God rather than the voices that were around her. I’m inferring here. But we know that Ruth was a Moabitess and the Moabites were looked down on by the Israelites, so her very presence was not welcomed. I can’t imagine the frustration she felt. Yet, she never gave up and was obedient.
I thought then and I still think now I want to be like Ruth when I grow up full of courage, faithfulness, and perseverance.
It’s Your Turn: Which Bible person made the first and lasting impact on your life and why? Let me know in the comments below!
Hello writing friends! Welcome to the landing page for this year’s #31days2022 writing challenge. Right off the bat, I am continuing my 3-year series on Influence. This year I am focusing on the examples of both Godly and Negative influencers in my life. Now before you say “MARY! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CALL PEOPLE OUT HERE ON YOUR BLOG?” the answer is no. I will make mention the positive influences in my life and *almost * all have them have given me permission to use their first names here! the negatives however are more generalized. We all have “those” people in our lives and I will discuss more the impact they had. I will speak of the impact these groups of women have had on me rather than singling out one person in general.
A Little About Me
Hi, I am Mary! I am a passionate servant of Jesus Christ. I have been married to my pastor hubby for almost 20 years. A little over a year ago we left our ministry of 12 years and started on the journey of looking for a new place of ministry. As God would have it we ended up staying in the very church we opted to attend in the meantime. It’s been a year of changes. In May we transitioned from our old home to our new property where we have been transforming a barn into a home., all while “camping “in our camper..
Did I mention we have 4 teenagers (ok one will be a teenager in April). We are parents to two kids with special needs. One with Autism Spectrum Disorder and another with Dyslexia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder. The week before COVID shut down the world we decided to homeschool our 4 kiddos. It hasn’t been a perfect experience but the kids love it and so do hubby and I.
In my free time (Hahahahaha) I enjoy all things arts and crafts, though in this season arty things and writing has been tough. I have unintentionally taken a two-month break from writing and October is the time to get back into the crazy swing of things.
My passion and purpose here on this blog is to help women grow closer on our walk with Jesus and each other because really we are all on this journey together!
You can check back here each day to find the latest blog post and the links to the other landing pages from the previous 2 years. ( I will also link them in every day’s post as well.).
Introduce yourself in the comments below. I would love for you to join me on this journey!
