ripples in the water; when women let loose

It always takes me a good chunk of time to sort through my own thoughts after a concentrated time with people. And when they are extraordinary people...

well, let's just say my head is about to explode.

But to not sort through my jumbled thoughts, to launch back into life full-bore without reflection, to simply fall back into routine without identifying what was gleaned would be tragic and irresponsible. Or at the very least missing an opportunity.

So as I sit here in the Seattle airport, longing to be in the arms of my husband, flashes of the faces of the beautiful women that I was so privileged to share time with play like a movie in my head. I am struck with how powerful a thing it is to gather in a setting of trust and share stories. Sounds so simple and therefore it risks being devalued (maybe that is why we live in a culture of individuals) but for me the experience of the last few days helped to galvanize my next steps, or rather the belief in my next steps that seem to be laid out in front of me. The conviction of those steps were affirmed.

I now know (but will still probably need to be reminded) that simply being intentionally within the flow of my life is what I am meant to do. For probably a year I struggled with why god would call our family OUT of ministry (as we knew it) but was certain that it WAS god's calling. Seeing the unhealthy demand for over-involvement within the structure of what we called church simply flew in the face of what (I think) Christ ever required. Tapering from big quantity-motivated ministry involvement to not even attending a local church seemed radical, but the shift of focus to family time, rest, and joyful experiences has been like being inside the womb. Hidden in that secret place where no one can see the growth, and yet what incredible growth there is! I admit that I am smack in the middle of a culture that judges value in measurement, and I have worked hard to pull out those tentacles of thought so that I myself don't judge worth by measure. Time with other women reminded me that our value is beyond measure.

We truly are, each one of us, like tumbled stones (shiny from our lived lives and each other) thrown into a still pond. As we all travel back to our own homes I imagine these stones thrown at each coast of a vast pond, and the ripples that we cause fan out beyond our own visions.

The things we do will cause ripples that we will never see.

But those ripples change the world.

Our gathering has helped me embrace the idea that even a single word of encouragement might be the thing that god requires in the moment. And if I am distracted by a larger more glamorous, more documented, more programmed, quantifiable thing that looms just ahead and miss being present in that moment with that word of encouragement I may have skipped right past...

god.

and that would be more than tragic.

So now I reflect on the idea that my convictions and actions, a simple stone's throw...

cause ripples in a pond

that delight the spirit.

Thank you amazing women for three days of laughing, crying, and empowering one another. Each of you are a blessing and a force. Let's go out and make some waves!