Women of Faith Conference

Of course I would have to write a blog about this weekend, even if I haven't written anything for about a month! One reason why I haven't written is well...because of shame. The decisions that I have been making for my life had been a disaster. I am very relieved, however, that I am able to write this blog. It is without a doubt going to be longer than any other blog that I have ever written, but thats okay! Where to begin...oh yes! For those of you who are expecting me to talk about some life changing experience, altar rush type experience, you are expecting way too much. Yes, the conference was wonderful, and I will talk about it some, but that was not the most rewarding part of the trip. I honestly didn't expect to really connect with anything that the speakers were saying. This one speaker in particular, who happens to be a counselor as well, was one that really stuck out to me. Not because of her "Jesus advice", but because of her theory on her own work. Her saying was "Psychology reveals, God heals". Another awesome point that she made was that being able to bring psychology and theology together is what the key is. How perfect for me to live on! I am a weirdo when it comes to my love for psychology, and very opinionated and hungry when it comes to theology!

After that, I wouldn't have expected to get anymore from any of the speakers. I guess I kind of went in with a closed heart. Anyways! One of the speakers, actually, the same one that I spoke of in the paragraph above, really had me thinking. She shared a story of a woman that she knew, and as soon as she started talking about her, it was like hearing about myself. But the thing is, the only connection as far as experiences goes was that we had one similarity from our pasts. The choices that we made because of our past, however, were the same. This opened my eyes to realize that this too was effecting me. But, her next point is what made the tears flow! It is my choice to do the things that I have been caught up in. Yes, it is as a result of what happened, but this is my own choice, not anyone elses. This just made me more stubborn and angry that I was allowing myself to live this way!

So, I bet as you are reading this, you are thinking that the paragraph above was the most rewarding part of my weekend. But, it isn't! It doesn't really even have to do with the conference. My dads coworker was the lady who invited me. I barely even knew her, but of course, I have no "going out of my comfort zone". I now consider her my friend, so I can call her that now :). Anywho...my friend really had a challenge that was going on in her life. It wasn't towards the end of today (Saturday), that this challenge got even more difficult. My most rewarding experience was being there for her, and praying for her. Maybe I spent more time praying for her than anything else, but thats okay. The conference could have been cancelled, and it still would have been a rewarding weekend just being there for her. This also showed me something that I think God has been trying to show me all along. I have been blessed (or cursed however you see it), with a gift of feeling other people's pain. I thought that I only felt that way when someone was sad because it was someone that I loved and cared about, and knew very well. This proved that wrong. I barely even knew her. Yes, I cared about her, because I had talked to her a bit before this, but I didn't know her. What a rewarding experience it was. The pain for her and struggles are still there, and that doesn't stop this experience just because the trip is over. And, please be praying for her as she is still going through this! My dear new friend, you are blessing to me!