Women of Faith--Follow Up: Counting Your Blessings Prematurely
I'm a bit late writing about my Women of Faith experience, I admit it. The last ten days have been marked with decreased energy and punctuated with a numb mood last night. But through it all, the whole experience of being chosen for a Women of Faith event, thanks to BookSneeze, and being able to invite another woman to enjoy this blessings and the lessons learned over the weekend were immense. I am still pondering them today.
I'm going to be very honest about it. I can't normally afford the registration costs for a Women of Faith conference. One of the things you give up when you have a large family is some of the "extras". I knew that going would bless me and take me to another level, but I knew also that I would get there at some point no matter what the path was. That's the thing about God--He will always get you where He wants you when you simply submit.
I attended both of the Friday sessions--day and evening. I sat next to a beautiful woman, Carolyn, in the morning who was there alone as well. Her daughter-in-law was working but would be joining her for the evening and Saturday sessions. Later, in the evening, Charla would join me!
The day was magnificent! Patsy Clairmont is so real and funny! Probably my favorite quote of hers was: "Pop the pill in Jesus' name!" This hits home as a woman who struggles with depression! I also really enjoyed Andy Andrews, a total hoot and proof that our ADD/ADHD children can become something GREAT! His "Over The Top" energy made him such a profound fit for a women's conference. *chuckle*
And of course, in the evening, we were blessed by Sandi Patty and Mandisa. Both of them can sing and draw you to your feet. Amy Grant was to perform on Saturday...but I'll get to that in a minute.
I was pumped but tired when I said goodbye to Charla and promised to meet her the next morning. But Friday night was rough at my house. An adorable Busier-Bear had a really rough night, up more than three times. And so was I. When the alarm went off Saturday morning, I could barely draw my breath to rise from bed. All desire to do anything was gone.
[Depression for me is like a locked cage. You are inside, and you can see out, but you don't hold the key to release. The worst part, you didn't do anything to deserve being locked up in the first place.]
I finally had to text Charla and apologize; there was no way I was going to make it. "If I had a scheduled interview with Amy Grant, even that wouldn't get me to go." I was that out of it. And the lead balls shackled to my ankles were so heavy--the irony being that the night before I'd jumped to my feet to dance as Mandisa sang, "Shackles". But that is what depression is.
This is where I realized I had evaluated my blessing too soon. You see, Charla and I aren't that close, but I volunteered the ticket on Facebook and she was the first to reply. But God, as always, had His hand in the mix. As we were texting back and forth Saturday morning, I told Charla about my depression, and how I often felt on days like this that God was simply storing up the energy I wanted for another day when I was going to need extra...for something BIG. Something bigger than Women of Faith.
Charla thought that was certainly the case.
You see, without the tickets, I would never have had a single conversation with Charla. Without Charla, I would never have gotten the encouragement to press on during the hard days. And without that, days like yesterday would probably pull me under.
Will I go again next year? I don't know...It depends on how my blessings fall. I'm in the business of blessing others. Maybe next year I'll volunteer to give someone else a ticket!
Thanks again, BookSneeze!
And to find a Women of Faith event near you, don't forget to go "Over the Top" or "Imagine!"
I'm going to be very honest about it. I can't normally afford the registration costs for a Women of Faith conference. One of the things you give up when you have a large family is some of the "extras". I knew that going would bless me and take me to another level, but I knew also that I would get there at some point no matter what the path was. That's the thing about God--He will always get you where He wants you when you simply submit.
I attended both of the Friday sessions--day and evening. I sat next to a beautiful woman, Carolyn, in the morning who was there alone as well. Her daughter-in-law was working but would be joining her for the evening and Saturday sessions. Later, in the evening, Charla would join me!
The day was magnificent! Patsy Clairmont is so real and funny! Probably my favorite quote of hers was: "Pop the pill in Jesus' name!" This hits home as a woman who struggles with depression! I also really enjoyed Andy Andrews, a total hoot and proof that our ADD/ADHD children can become something GREAT! His "Over The Top" energy made him such a profound fit for a women's conference. *chuckle*
And of course, in the evening, we were blessed by Sandi Patty and Mandisa. Both of them can sing and draw you to your feet. Amy Grant was to perform on Saturday...but I'll get to that in a minute.
I was pumped but tired when I said goodbye to Charla and promised to meet her the next morning. But Friday night was rough at my house. An adorable Busier-Bear had a really rough night, up more than three times. And so was I. When the alarm went off Saturday morning, I could barely draw my breath to rise from bed. All desire to do anything was gone.
[Depression for me is like a locked cage. You are inside, and you can see out, but you don't hold the key to release. The worst part, you didn't do anything to deserve being locked up in the first place.]
I finally had to text Charla and apologize; there was no way I was going to make it. "If I had a scheduled interview with Amy Grant, even that wouldn't get me to go." I was that out of it. And the lead balls shackled to my ankles were so heavy--the irony being that the night before I'd jumped to my feet to dance as Mandisa sang, "Shackles". But that is what depression is.
This is where I realized I had evaluated my blessing too soon. You see, Charla and I aren't that close, but I volunteered the ticket on Facebook and she was the first to reply. But God, as always, had His hand in the mix. As we were texting back and forth Saturday morning, I told Charla about my depression, and how I often felt on days like this that God was simply storing up the energy I wanted for another day when I was going to need extra...for something BIG. Something bigger than Women of Faith.
Charla thought that was certainly the case.
You see, without the tickets, I would never have had a single conversation with Charla. Without Charla, I would never have gotten the encouragement to press on during the hard days. And without that, days like yesterday would probably pull me under.
Will I go again next year? I don't know...It depends on how my blessings fall. I'm in the business of blessing others. Maybe next year I'll volunteer to give someone else a ticket!
Thanks again, BookSneeze!
And to find a Women of Faith event near you, don't forget to go "Over the Top" or "Imagine!"
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