12 hours, 3 speakers, 1 unforgettable weekend: that was the She Is Conference in Indiana, Pa. The event provided women with worship, prayer, and sermons that would impact their lives in one way or another.
The event included four women from different cultural and social backgrounds, but the one thing they had in common? Their love for Christ. Tiffany Thurston, Jo Saxton, Annie Downs, and Andi Andrew shared personal anecdotes with 700 women in an attempt to help them grow in Christ.
Among the 700 women-- me. As I sat listening to each of the women talk, I was excited and enthusiastic for the experience that was being shared. Three lessons that I took from the weekend were: the “wells” of life won’t satisfy your cravings, be battle ready, and take your seeds and spread them.
Annie opened the Bible to connect us with the story of the woman and the well. I have heard this story a few times, but through Annie’s eyes, I experienced it in a whole new way. She summed up the story perfectly saying that we all have “wells” in our lives that we go to in order to satisfy our cravings. We look to relationships, money, job promotions, etc. thinking that we will find what will make us happy. The reality is that these “wells” won’t satisfy us-- no matter how much money we make, how many promotions we get, or positive relationships we have. Annie ended the story by asking us to identify our water jar and to let it go because Jesus is enough.
Andi running from the back of the stage to the front symbolizing being battle ready provided me with the courage to face my own battles. We shouldn’t stand back and let the dark season win. In life, there are times when we say to ourselves, “This is the worst thing in the world,” but that is not true. In a story in which a lady was screaming about a plane being delayed on the tarmac being "the worst thing in the world," Andi reminded us that there are actually worse things and that sometimes those “worst things” we so easily gripe about are actually just turtles on the runway delaying us.
Andi also brought enthusiasm and humor by giving us packets of seeds. We can attend church every week, go to Bible studies, women’s conferences, etc. but if we don’t take the knowledge that we have gained and spread that to others to build disciples, then are we really making a difference? We need to take those seeds, plant them, nourish them with our hearts, and let them grow.
12 hours, 3 speakers, 1 unforgettable weekend gave me more courage to trust in Jesus just a little more.
