KAREN HODGE|CONTRIBUTOR
Even though I am not the greatest singer, I have always loved the joy of being in a choir. I love the diverse tones blending together in rich harmonies. There is also a robust strength and volume when the choir sings in unison.
In my service to Women’s Ministries in the PCA, I have had the opportunities to hear many women’s voices. I have heard them over the phone, in conference hallways, and across the dinner table.
The women’s ministry leader who crescendos, “How do I use my gifts in the context of the church in a meaningful way?”
The young mother who belts out, “How long oh Lord, will I be up to my eyeballs in diapers?”
The single woman who quietly sings, “Why does is seem like everything for women in my church is catered to the married woman with 2.5 kids and a designer dog?”
I have heard many older women singing in a melancholy voice, “I long to leave a legacy and for my life to count for eternity.”
And the younger woman, singing softly at first, “Where is the older woman out there to show me the way?”
I have also met many women who struggle to find their voice to express how they feel about God and the life He has sovereignly designed for them. And I empathize with their feelings that no matter how hard I try I just can’t clearly and authentically express the longings of my heart. But one thing is certainly true over the last year. I have met countless of you, as I have traveled across the country for Transformed Conferences, who tell me that you regularly read enCourage. One woman told me, “I can’t wait to wake up on Monday and Thursday mornings to see what is waiting for me in my inbox.” Another woman told me she wept when she read our piece on having a miscarriage because it gave voice to the intense grief in her heart. Another woman prays about how she can use each blog to regularly encourage women in her church.
The unifying sentiment is that this amazingly gifted group of writers that God brought together has given voice to how we are feeling. They have reminded us the beauty and blessing of gospel friendship. They have sung the depth of the gospel softly over our hearts concerning shame, guilt, loneliness, and fear. They have encouraged us to think biblically about social media and sexuality even when the world is singing a drastically different tune. These women and their words have become our friends and faithful companions along our pilgrimage. Like a good song, it gets deep down in your soul and you find yourself singing over and over. And when they are tunes that really resonate you tell your friends: “You gotta hear this!”
If there is one thing I have learned this past year, it takes courage to give voice to your thoughts. I want to thank our team of enCourage writers for daring to sing truth into a world that desperately needs to hear the sweet melody of the gospel. And every choir needs a proficient director. One who will gather the voices and fine tune them until they are right on pitch. Christina Fox, our enCourage editor, is a visionary leader. She has empowered many writers who were afraid to let their voices be heard by coaching and coming alongside them in the process. She stepped out in faith to make this a platform for enCouraging voices to gather together into a mighty chorus of enCouragement!
I don’t know about you, but over this last year I have been greatly enCouraged!
