crystalscookingnow
Gold Member
- 2,963
Hi Ladies - This post will talk about God. Please don't be offended. If you choose to be offended, please make the choice not to post. Thanks.
I wanted to share something with you that happened to me over the weekend.
I went with my church to the Women of Faith Conference this past weekend in St. Louis. Not sure what Women of Faith Conferences are all about? Go here: http://www.womenoffaith.com/
I've been feeling kind of down lately & not really worth much of anything. I must admit that I thought about cancelling the trip all together. I decided to go since my ticket was paid for & they were counting on me for room buddies & stuff. I am trying to do alot better about my commitments.
So anyway, Friday afternoon I was picked up by some fellow church members & off we went. Friday night, the conference was really good. I enjoyed the music & the fellowship thoroughly. I wasn't WOWED like I thought I would be though. It wasn't until Saturday mid-morning when I KNEW that I was meant to be there & God was talking to me.
One of the speakers was Sandi Patty. She was on stage sharing the story of her childhood abuse & I was planted in my seat with tears rolling down my cheeks. Almost to the point of sobbing. I have been sexually abused as a child (multiple times) and her way of telling her story just spoke to me. I knew it in my heart. The choices that I made as a young girl still haunt me to this day. She talked about the layers that victims of abuse wrap themselves in to protect their feelings. I can see now the layers that I have put around myself to not let people in because I don't want to be hurt again. But, now I know that I have God's grace waiting for me if I will just make the choice to heal & let God take care of everything for me. I've felt so worthless here recently & realize now that it's because of all of the layers that I have wrapped around me hiding the true me.
So, as she was finishing her time as speaker, I thought to myself... You really have to meet this woman & thank her. Then I thought, yeah right. That's not gonna happen. Our group was leaving immediately after the conference to get back home. As the conference was winding down I was touched very emotionally & was in prayer about what I had just felt.
We left the conference & a ball game had just gotten out. We were in traffic for at least an hour trying to get back across the river (MO-IL) so that we could stop & eat. We finally made our way to the restaurant. As we're getting out of the van, another car pulls up & parks next to us. I didn't pay any attention to who it was, but it finally dawned on me. It was Sandi Patty! My heart sunk & God tapped me on the shoulder & said, here you go. Ask & it will be given to you. So, we go inside & she's in line to order her food right in front of us.
I gathered all of the courage that I could muster & tapped her on the shoulder. I told her, with a chuckle, that she was eating at Qdobo Express by God's Devine Appointment. I then shared with her what had happened at the conference & how much strength & courage she had given me. We had a bit more of a conversation & she then asked if she could hug me! Duh! I should have been asking her for the hug! She was so real & so caring & truly concerned just for me. I could feel it. I know that might sound goofy, but I really felt it.
After she ordered her food, they left & everyone was asking what that was all about. I just smiled. After we ate, we had a time to share what the best time of the conference was. I waited until it was quiet for a while & then shared what my best part of the conf. was. Everyone that I was with (about 20 women) were in tears as I poured my heart out about how God had touched me today. I know now that I have the strength to heal with the Grace of God.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experiences with the Women of Faith conference and the relationship with God. I may be scarce from here as I go through all of the healing that needs to happen. I'm going to be doing minimal things with Pampered Chef for a while as I go through counselling. This is going to be opening up some hard stuff for my mom, too, because some of the information that I need is going to come from her. When I was abused the first time, I was younger than 3. I don't remember it outright, but I know that it's hidden somewhere beneath all of these layers. So, if you would please keep me in prayer & I'll keep ya'll updated as I go.
Hugs!
Crystal
I wanted to share something with you that happened to me over the weekend.
I went with my church to the Women of Faith Conference this past weekend in St. Louis. Not sure what Women of Faith Conferences are all about? Go here: http://www.womenoffaith.com/
I've been feeling kind of down lately & not really worth much of anything. I must admit that I thought about cancelling the trip all together. I decided to go since my ticket was paid for & they were counting on me for room buddies & stuff. I am trying to do alot better about my commitments.
So anyway, Friday afternoon I was picked up by some fellow church members & off we went. Friday night, the conference was really good. I enjoyed the music & the fellowship thoroughly. I wasn't WOWED like I thought I would be though. It wasn't until Saturday mid-morning when I KNEW that I was meant to be there & God was talking to me.
One of the speakers was Sandi Patty. She was on stage sharing the story of her childhood abuse & I was planted in my seat with tears rolling down my cheeks. Almost to the point of sobbing. I have been sexually abused as a child (multiple times) and her way of telling her story just spoke to me. I knew it in my heart. The choices that I made as a young girl still haunt me to this day. She talked about the layers that victims of abuse wrap themselves in to protect their feelings. I can see now the layers that I have put around myself to not let people in because I don't want to be hurt again. But, now I know that I have God's grace waiting for me if I will just make the choice to heal & let God take care of everything for me. I've felt so worthless here recently & realize now that it's because of all of the layers that I have wrapped around me hiding the true me.
So, as she was finishing her time as speaker, I thought to myself... You really have to meet this woman & thank her. Then I thought, yeah right. That's not gonna happen. Our group was leaving immediately after the conference to get back home. As the conference was winding down I was touched very emotionally & was in prayer about what I had just felt.
We left the conference & a ball game had just gotten out. We were in traffic for at least an hour trying to get back across the river (MO-IL) so that we could stop & eat. We finally made our way to the restaurant. As we're getting out of the van, another car pulls up & parks next to us. I didn't pay any attention to who it was, but it finally dawned on me. It was Sandi Patty! My heart sunk & God tapped me on the shoulder & said, here you go. Ask & it will be given to you. So, we go inside & she's in line to order her food right in front of us.
I gathered all of the courage that I could muster & tapped her on the shoulder. I told her, with a chuckle, that she was eating at Qdobo Express by God's Devine Appointment. I then shared with her what had happened at the conference & how much strength & courage she had given me. We had a bit more of a conversation & she then asked if she could hug me! Duh! I should have been asking her for the hug! She was so real & so caring & truly concerned just for me. I could feel it. I know that might sound goofy, but I really felt it.
After she ordered her food, they left & everyone was asking what that was all about. I just smiled. After we ate, we had a time to share what the best time of the conference was. I waited until it was quiet for a while & then shared what my best part of the conf. was. Everyone that I was with (about 20 women) were in tears as I poured my heart out about how God had touched me today. I know now that I have the strength to heal with the Grace of God.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experiences with the Women of Faith conference and the relationship with God. I may be scarce from here as I go through all of the healing that needs to happen. I'm going to be doing minimal things with Pampered Chef for a while as I go through counselling. This is going to be opening up some hard stuff for my mom, too, because some of the information that I need is going to come from her. When I was abused the first time, I was younger than 3. I don't remember it outright, but I know that it's hidden somewhere beneath all of these layers. So, if you would please keep me in prayer & I'll keep ya'll updated as I go.
Hugs!
Crystal
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