The Wrong Girl

Have you ever choked on coffee before? I have, and let me just say it’s very unpleasant. Before I tell you why I choked on my coffee, we need to rewind. Five years ago, my two best friends and I started something “by accident.” It was divine intervention in the form of three girls praying together, and it became a national ministry of prayer. As we know, prayer changes things. God simply called us to gather together early Monday mornings to pray. We had no idea what we were doing. Nonetheless, we were faithful to meet weekly in prayer, and God used that time to turn our lives completely upside down. Through that prayer group came a book, then a women’s event, then a full-blown ministry. Imperfectly Brave is now a non-profit hosting its fifth event this spring. My best friend and I have co-led Imperfectly Brave, she as the founder and I, her trusty sidekick.Imagine me—the wildest wild child with a colorful past—helping lead a women’s ministry. But God! For a long time my roles were clear: run social media, write for the ministry, lead the worship team and run support on the rest. Everything was going great! Our ministry was in a rapid growth stage. We were a team and it was good. Then we met for coffee. Only a few weeks out from our big yearly event, I sat across from my best friend and partner in ministry. The founder of this dream looked at me and stated that she was stepping down from CEO of our ministry. Then I choked. “I’m sorry. What?” I gasped.  “I didn’t even know that was a possibility.” Composing myself, I listened, bewildered and full of questions, dabbing my eyes. The theme of the months to follow was “don’t panic.” And then I began to process the call to step up. Being CEO of Imperfectly Brave wasn’t something I wished for or even hoped for. I was happy and safe in my support role. It let me use my gifts in the way I wanted to use them. Now I was asked to lead this ministry. I accepted, terrified to say yes but more terrified to say no.Sprinkled throughout the Bible we find examples just like this. Regular humans being called to step up and step out of our comfort zones into roles where only God can get the glory. It often takes a lot of patience and coaxing on God’s part but, in the end, it turns out they were just the person for the job. It took me about six months (slow on obedience over here) to really step into my new role. Sister, know this: you are the girl for the job because you are a girl with God. If he calls you, he’s going to equip you. He will guide you because that’s what he’s always done for us since the beginning of time. I am excited about what God is doing with a wild child who accepted his call up. He didn’t have the wrong girl after all.