Growing up in church it was very common to hear people share their stories, their testimonies. Testimonies were shared in our church services, in small groups, in youth group and I even remember times when our church would have a special night service just for people to share their testimonies… their inspiring story of how God saved them.
There was always something that was the same with every new testimony I heard. They were all captivating.
I enjoyed hearing these stories and journeys of how individuals came to Christ or how the Lord did something amazing in their life. There was something pivotal in each person’s life that made their testimony worth sharing.
I also always had the same feeling after hearing each captivating story… I don’t have one.
I never had a testimony to share at church, in small groups or in the women’s Bible studies I would attend. I remember as a part of my first teaching application I had to submit an essay that basically was supposed to share my testimony and my personal story of how I came to Christ.
I had nothing… nothing I thought was worth sharing.
What’s so captivating about a girl who accepted Christ at 5 years old in Sunday school? Who grew up in a loving Christian family, was a good girl in high school and went to a strict private Christian college where she met her future husband their freshman year. Who got married at 21 and started a career as a teacher, bought a house, had kids and was active in her church. Boring.
Nothing captivating, nothing inspirational.
But I was happy, content and very blessed with the ordinary life I had, even if I didn’t fully realize that at the time.
Boy has my life story changed over the past three years…
A few months ago I was asked if I would share my story, my testimony at my sister’s church. I would be given the privilege of speaking to the ladies in her mom’s group. It was my first time sharing my story out loud to strangers, nothing like being able to sit behind my computer screen through this blog. I said yes, but second guessed myself for months as I prepared.
I would type out my whole “speech” then delete it all. I did this over and over. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what God was wanting me to share. Throughout my ordinary life I never had what I thought was a testimony worth sharing and I was almost mad that now I did have one and for the reasons why.
After lots of prayer and feeling confident in what God placed on my heart I shared with these ladies the details of June 14, 2016, the day my ordinary life was instantly shattered.
I shared that for so long all I wanted was that boring, ordinary, no story to share life back more than anything. That is took my worst nightmare for me to see that my ordinary life I was living was a testimony. My testimony of commitment, love, respect, faith, blessings. For 33 years, what I thought was such a boring, nothing worth sharing life was actually a huge part of a very powerful testimony God had planned out for me my whole life.
Every part of that boring, church girl, wife, teacher, mom life is what has grounded and prepared me to survive the most devastating and soul shattering times in my life. If it wasn’t for that foundation, the faith I already had in God, the confidence in the amazing and pure love Mike and I shared, those family values we had instilled in our boys together as parents… I wouldn’t have made it.
If it wasn’t for my ordinary life I wouldn’t have made it through to see the other side of my nightmare.
So on that morning where I got to share my testimony with a group of women who most likely felt like they were just simply maneuvering through their ordinary Christian wife and mom lives I was able to remind them of the beauty in the ordinary.
Just for a moment take a step back and look at your daily routine. Whether it be chaotic, mundane, boring, repetitive, or even ordinary I encourage you to never take it for granted. Cherish all those moments and focus on the perspective. Focus on the blessings.
You don’t have to have an intriguing life story to tell in order encourage others or even encourage yourself. Meet God where He currently is working in your life and embrace it.
Ordinary IS Beautiful.
