Changing Your World

A few weeks ago, I heard a message from Church of the Highlands pastor, Chris Hodges. His series was entitled “Changing Your World.” One of the points in the message was about your sphere of influence, defined as the dozen people (on average) with whom you spend an hour per week. I realized that, before working at Women’s Hope, my sphere of influence was small. I was cocooned in a very small world where I saw the same people who were similar to myself and having the same values, beliefs and faith. My world consisted of my husband, my son and his friends, my church, my family and the people that I interacted with as a result of my son’s activities. I remember wondering and even praying about how I was going to make a difference in a world where I never ran into in anyone new or who wasn’t a mirror image to some degree.

My prayer was answered when I came to Women’s Hope. My sphere of influence changed and grew. I was meeting people that in normal daily life I would never run across. Their lives were so different from mine, with stories that are often sad, filled with hurt, shame, and despair. Every day in every encounter—my divine appointments—I am reaching out to people and encouraging them to seek God and find Him or to return to Him and be restored. My continual prayer is to live as Colossians 4:5-6 recommends, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Pastor Hodges encouraged us to know our story of hope and to be able to share it with someone in 3 minutes or less. At Women’s Hope, we get to practice that everyday. Nothing is more powerful than sharing who Jesus is to you and what He has done in your life. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.” Thank you for sharing your story of Jesus with your divine appointments as you Change Your World!!!