Barneyisfat

I have a book that I occasionally go to and re-read. The book is a collection of biographies of the female bishops. They deal primarily with individual stories of faith formation. Each woman wrote about her parents, but more importantly how her parents shaped her faith. It is wonderful to sit and read stories about people who eventually became people of strong, didactic faith.

One didn’t become a Christian until she was in her twenties. Another had been through a string of five or more jobs before she followed the call of God. Many had grown up with no church influence. Most had never seen a female pastor until they were in college. Some were middle aged before they started seminary. But … God had a plan for their lives. God directed them differently. For me, it’s a book of hope. God has a plan, but it’s a steep, rocky, narrow road.

We don’t tell our stories of faith formation enough. When we give our testimonies, we often focus on who we were before we accepted the grace and forgiveness of Christ. We rarely go into stories of who we have become since that point. I’m sure that most of the problem is one of pride. It’s slightly easier to talk about our pasts because they are behind us now. We aren’t who we should be yet. We haven’t finished our transformation. We need to be willing to share openly and honestly what God has done in our lives since we were saved.

I’m not where I should be, I’m not perfect, but I’m heading in the right direction. It isn’t every day that I can say that much. Praise God.