~Shannon Garms~
As I began to feel the desire to serve the Lord and the passion to minister to women, the two merged in my heart in a single moment. And while there are numerous other ministries that I feel led to support, I feel no call to them. My mission, my work, my call, is to serve other women.
Our Father has prepared my heart for this work.
Indeed, He has prepared me for this work.
In fact, He began His work in preparing me, while I was in junior high.
Our junior high school consisted of seventh through ninth grades. And although I loved seventh grade, and met my life-long, dearest friend there, the very girl who years later became my matron-of-honor at my wedding, I was truly not a member of any clique. I was always a bit of a floater, more of a group-builder. Of course, I had my dearest best friend, and she and I were inseparable. And then together, we shared a group of girls that we adored.
Yes, even then, the Lord was preparing my heart…for in that crowded lunchtime cafeteria, in that treacherous gym dodgeball tournament, at that awkward bake sale…it was those events that were my first mission fields.
I was already drawing girls into the group…not my group…but rather a group that would become, our group.
Additionally, I was the girl that always had a boyfriend. And, I was the girl that was always breaking-up with my boyfriend. And then, I was the girl that my girlfriends would soon be coming to, to let me know that they really wanted to ‘go with’ my (just days) ‘old’ boyfriend. Talk about interesting…those days were definitely pre-girl code!!!
Almost always, though, my ‘old’ boyfriend had already shared this awkward news with me, in the hopes that we could ‘get back together’ and learned instead, that I was completely fine with him moving on. Indeed, I was serving as the entre’ into a different, brand-‘Something New!’ world for my girlfriends, even then!
In high school and then on into my college years, this trend continued.
I helped my dear girlfriends, those Sweet Sisters, apply for jobs, I helped them practice interviewing, I helped them study for tests, I drove them to airports for flights home for Spring Break, I loaned money, I loaned meal cards, I loaned clothes…
I have long been a Champion FOR Women Supporting Women!!! Why? Because I have long been a Champion OF Women Supporting Women!!! Why? Because this is the Call on MY life by Our Father!!!
As I’ve been reminded countless times:
“God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.”
~~~Romans 11:29~~~
And because I’ve been given much, entrusted with much, I am blessed to live out the words from the Book of Luke…
“…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.”
~~~Luke 12:48~~~
~~~Romans 11:29~~~
Because I have been Gifted Mightily by Our Father…
Saved by His Undeserved Grace…
Protected by His Perfect Hedge…
Shielded by His Blessed Care…
I’m filled with a driving passion to help other women come to live their lives fully in the brilliant light of His Love.
Y’all, I am blessed to receive many compliments each day. Truly, each and every day! And, by far, the compliment that I receive the most, is that I am a “burst of sunshine!”
I always try to redirect everyone to the source for that shining light, reminding everyone that it is, of course, Him that they see shining, and not me…
“From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.”
~~~Psalm 50:2~~~
And yet, after all these many years, distressingly, many many many women resist this message.
Because of course, it is His blessings, His gifts that pour through us, which ultimately direct people right back to HIM, which then allows and encourages His Goodness to begin to flow through their lives as well!!!
Now, I know, that this can be a bit of a tricky concept and it can be tough to follow all the way through, but I assure you that I am, and my very life is, all the living proof of the certainty of the very fact of the goodness of Our Father.
In fact, Y’all, if we track back, and we go all the way back, in the life of each and every woman, there is that moment, and it is a moment that either happens…or it doesn’t…it is a moment of support…a moment when another woman steps in and truly offers her support to another…
It plays out brilliantly!!! It will stay with the supported woman forever!!!
She will not be unaware of it…she will not overlook it…she will not forget it…
She will always have it with her…close to her heart!!!
It is a moment of clarity…of grace…of JOY!!!
That moment when another woman steps into that gap, that hole in the rickety bridge, that missing step in the staircase…and acts on her behalf.
In my case it was an older woman, who, in me, saw someone who was worth ‘positioning herself’ as a champion for!
Certainly though, it doesn’t have to play out this way. In fact, in our world today, women of all ages and all levels of ‘success’ can act as champions for one another…if they are confident and brave enough to do so.
In each of YOU, I see individuals who are worth it to me, worth it for me to ‘position myself’ as a champion for you, your worth, your cause!
In my life, with my Coach and I, all it took was a brief conversation!
Regardless…it will always always always take action!!!
Let me share with you these profound words from the Book of James, the oldest half-brother of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…
“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
~~~James 2:15-17~~~
The calling that Our Father has on my life is to support and aid women; it is helping women “shine from within!” and it fills me with a tremendous sense of purpose…I feel a calling with my destiny…a calling from Our Father to fulfill this task and ministry.
Indeed, I want to hear these words:
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.”
~~~Matthew 25:21~~~
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