I have a Word document on my computer simply entitled New Thing. This is what I do when I can tell something’s brewing but I don’t know what yet. It’s filled with some thoughts, some resources, some possible actions steps, and lots of “???”’s.
I stumbled upon this quote and felt like it was screaming out my name: “Traveler, there is no path, the path must be forged as you walk.” -Antonio Machado-
I feel like I know that God wants to take my marriage and divorce pain and do something with it, I just don’t know what yet.
But here are a few things I’ve jotted down, to sort of pull back the veil a bit on what I’m currently thinking and praying through.
Vision: Helping broken women heal and become whole women living redemptive lives.
Mission: To reach out through authentic words and grace-filled actions to three sets of people…
Women in difficult/abusive/addiction-fraught marriages: to help them know they’re not alone, and to encourage them to get real help.
Women who have divorced: to help them know they don’t need to be ashamed, and that there is life after divorce.
Pastors/church leaders who work with hurting couples: to educate them in better ways to handle abusive and addiction-filled marriages.
Women in difficult/abusive/addiction-fraught marriages: to help them know they’re not alone, and to encourage them to get real help.
Women who have divorced: to help them know they don’t need to be ashamed, and that there is life after divorce.
Pastors/church leaders who work with hurting couples: to educate them in better ways to handle abusive and addiction-filled marriages.
Now, I’m already sort of doing some of this, but I’m feeling this pull to go deeper and wider. I’m reading and I’m going through some training and I’m talking with women one-on-one to hear their stories of abusive marriages and difficult divorces and sometimes-helpful/sometimes-not-so-much church experiences, and of course, I’m writing.
But I have no idea what this is all going to look like so I invite you, my sweet blog readers, to pray with me. I want to be guided to my next steps clearly and, bottomline, I want to use my pain and my healing to help other women. God did not bring me through all this for nothing, that I am certain of.
The need is there Elisabeth – and the message that you are carrying needs to be widespread. I will pray that you’ll keep on the path towards opportunities that will make this possible.
I can’t express enough how affirming and encouraging your blog is to me. I feel I am not alone in the feelings I have felt and my experience in a “Christian” marriage and how I turned myself into nothing trying to make it work. Thank you for being brave and bold in sharing your story.
Anonymous,
Thank you for your kind, affirming words! I’ll keep going!
Elisabeth
Something is coming together for me, too, to share my story…I’ve been kind of feeling a push to at least think about sharing…I do not know in what way and I’m not quite ready…here’s a link to a post–yesterday–from one of my favorite Christian authors about considering how God wants us to encourage others. Prayers that we will all discern God’s purpose in all of this. I know He hates divorce…but it is a part of our sinful world and I think that through the “bad” we can find good. I’ve gotten so very, very much out of the FB page and your blog…I can’t thank you enough.
http://www.hydratedliving.com/2013/04/when-only-our-failures-are-helpful.html?showComment=1366720352144#c5880979321491877336
Shelly,
Thank you for your kind words! I’ll try to check out the post soon.
Elisabeth