The Gospel message first reached my heart through a restaurant manager at the local Burger King where I worked. Mary Beth understood that God was not a part of her story; she was a part of His. She understood the same was true of me. She led me to the Lord when I was 19, and when I needed a place to live she invited me to share her home.
I’ll never forget the night she was out of town and I slept in her room (her bed was way more comfortable than mine). On the nightstand was her diary, and my newly saved and not-very-sanctified self opened it right up.
The Revelation
There on the page were words written as though He spoke them to her. At that moment, His tangible presence entered the room and the bold, hungry, needy girl that I was said out loud, “This is what I want. If I can’t know you like this, then I don’t want to know you at all.”
Enter the Gospel
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3
God in His mercy and grace answered that raw prayer, and thus began an intimate walk with the One who loves me more than I can fully comprehend. The Gospel restores our hearts to God through Christ. Intimate communion with Him is His desire for each of us.
My Work
How does this Gospel truth redeem my work?
My work is motherhood, and in just a few short months, my boys will be graduating from high school. I’m more aware than ever that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. While my heart as a mother is to see my children follow Christ, I recognize that this is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
My work is to make them thirsty.
In the pages of my friend’s diary was a taste of living water. Both in private and in public, Mary Beth lived out her faith with transparency and vulnerability. She modeled knowing Him and making Him known. I do the same with my boys. This is how discipleship begins…in the home and in the marketplace.
