As part of some study I am doing I was asked to write a Personal Statement of Faith reflecting on the keys I have learned and how they apply to my ministry. I thought I would share the end result here.

You could say that my faith journey started at my birth.  My mother’s obstetrician called the delivery suite to silence the moment I was born to pray over me.  I was told that he thanked God for my safe arrival and asked for my life to be blessed by Him and that I would be a blessing for Him with those I encountered in my life.  When I first heard this story I was 24 years old, and my mum added, “I see this prayer coming true in you every day.”

I was born into a Christian family who were preparing to enter full-time ministry with The Salvation Army.  Being part of church communities was the norm for all my life and I was involved in Sunday School teachings at age-appropriate levels.  When I was 6 years old I remember being in our evening church service and asking the adult who was charged with looking after me if now was the time you can go forward to pray and ask Jesus into my life.  It was, and I did.  The only other thing I remember about that night was feeling like I was so full of joy I would burst and I was walking on a cloud of air.

Joy is something that I hold dear and try to share everywhere I go.  The world can feel like such a dark place, especially as I work in a maximum security men’s prison and I feel my role as a joy-bringer is even more essential.  It is a way I try to bring blessing to others.

From my early twenties, despite having a great job and feeling content with my life, I felt a strong calling into full-time ministry myself.  I was incredibly resistant at first as I wanted to have control over my own life rather than handing that over to God.  After some divine negotiation I chose to surrender my life to God’s control and entered ministry with The Salvation Army.  I realized I wanted to make a difference in the world and to give back somehow. 

My training at theological college surrounded me with amazing teachers who encouraged me to grow and develop my skills and abilities.  They challenged my thinking as the faith of my childhood needed to be wrestled with and formed into something that I could believe for myself and not just because my parents told me.  This was uncomfortable, and difficult at times, and is something that I need to continue to do as new situations present themselves. 

This process also helped me identify that I have a passion for sharing knowledge and teaching people as they navigate life.  I love to look at the teaching in the Bible and hear what others interpret from the pages and share what I see as well.  I love spending time with others and hearing about their life journey and what they are facing at this moment.  Being present and included in their journey is such a privilege.  This is an important part of ministry for me.

Growing up in The Salvation Army has placed me in places and circumstances other church goers don’t often get to experience.  Regular encounters with people with mental health episodes, those under the influence of a variety of substances, families in traumatic situations, natural disaster emergency relief efforts have not been uncommon in my ministry experience.  I endeavour to face each of these with grace, knowing that God’s grace has been given to me, and it’s my job to share that grace with others. 

One afternoon, at the church I was leading one of our regular community members was asking to use our shower.  Ordinarily this would not be a problem, but on this occasion she was incredibly inebriated, almost unable to stand, and we do not allow showers in these circumstances.  She was complaining that all she wanted was to wash her hair as it was dirty and tangled and so I offered to do it for her.  We set up our own version of a hairdressing station so that she could sit in a chair as I ran warm water over her long hair.  I shampooed her hair until the water finally ran clear, then added conditioner and worked it through the mats and tangles.  I even threw in a bit of a scalp massage!  By the end of the process her hair was cleaner that it had been for months and she left happy and satisfied.  She passed away from complications of her alcohol addiction a couple of months later. 

I do not share this story to self-aggrandize in any way, but to illustrate what motivates me in ministry.  When asked by my staff why I did it, all I could say was, “I think Jesus would have offered to wash her hair.”

I don’t want you to think that my journey has been all roses and sunshine.  Life has thrown me some difficult curve balls to face: broken romantic relationships including two engagements and one marriage; cancer death of my children’s 7-year-old half-sister; cancer diagnosis of my father-in-law and my father on the same day; domestic violence intervention orders taken out against my ex-husband by police after being divorced for 12 years; deaths of both of my parents to cancer.  Each occasion causes more wrestling and reflection and discomfort but I am still held secure in my faith, often wondering how faith-less people survive such traumatic events.  I am grateful for God’s grace and comfort through all these times and the lessons I have learned through them all. 

My journey is not over yet.

Why not spend some time and reflect on your own faith journey?

Be blessed.