beautifully rooted.

{photo by Alec Vanderboom}

God is a constant surprise.

That’s how I felt when, about a month ago, in the middle of my family’s mourning period, sweet Rachel contacted me to ask if I’d be a contributing writer for Beautifully Rooted, a new blogging project she and Heather were starting.

I couldn’t have been more surprised or more thrilled.

God was answering my prayers in ways I never expected.

You see, a little over a year ago, my mentoring and teaching opportunity at my church began to fade away. For reasons I can’t quite explain (but, happily, I have finally accepted), God wanted me somewhere else, wanted my gifts to be used in ways it’s taken me a long time to fully realize.

I know a lot of people think blogging is at its best, silly, and at its worst, narcissistic. They don’t understand why I choose to put my words and my life on the Internet for all the world to see, and quite frankly, there are days I don’t really understand it either. But I keep writing, mostly because I need to get the words out, and blogging seems to be the best medium to do that.

Over the years, God has shown me, though, that blogging is more than just a way to purge the words. It’s community, yes, but it’s also ministry. I’ve been blessed and challenged by so many of the words I read online, and it’s my hope that this very tiny blip on the Internet offers some of you that same comfort.

It’s my hope that, perhaps in ways far different than I ever envisioned for myself, this place where I choose to put my words every day serves as ministry.

Two Novembers ago, I felt silenced. I felt like the gift I’d been given as a daughter of the King had been taken from me unfairly. I was angry, hurt, and probably more bitter than I’d like to admit.

It’s taken a while, but He has shown me — as He always does — that He is faithful. He is constantly providing me with new ways to use my gifts. And even though they aren’t necessarily the ways I would have chosen for myself, I am beginning to wonder if they aren’t better, if they aren’t more far-reaching and God-honoring than the more traditional outlets I would have chosen.

That’s the thing that I am learning about this God I serve: He is so much bigger than I make Him.

I don’t know what He will choose to do with Beautifully Rooted, with the women and the words that come to rest there.

But I do know I am so glad to be a part, not just because of the ministry I believe it will provide, but because it has served as a reminder to me that God is faithful, and when it comes to who He is and what He has in store? I should always be prepared to be surprised.

Beautifully Rooted launches today, and you can now find me there once a week, sharing my thoughts on faith and the Father. I hope you'll wander over if you get the chance and explore a little. Heather and Rachel have created something special, and I can't wait to see what He does with it all.