My husband follows my blog. I'm so encouraged by his support and though we have our differences in opinion at times, I appreciate that he's not a 'yes man'. I believe he appreciates that I'm not a 'yes woman', too. We boldy state the truth and don't sugar coat things just to make someone else feel better. Over the past eight months or so, we've learned to be more transparent with each other, which means when something bothers us, we don't hide our feelings, but try our best to lay everything out on the table and discuss it. We actually have weekly "come to Jesus" meetings (for business and personal) where we air out the good, bad, and ugly that we may not have been able to discuss in our daily talks.
With that said, the last post I wrote invoked an interesting conversation regarding my 'badge of honor'. The gist of it was that it kind of bothers my husband when I harp on the fact that I was a single mom because "I's married now". He mentioned that he feels like I wear the single mom status as a badge of honor and it's as if that part of my life is more important than my current status as a wife and mom. Huh?
I explained to him that it's not that it's more important but that I'd been through many trying experiences in different stages as a woman and a mother and that what I planned to write in my book will be a reflection of those experiences and how God brought me through. It's an encouragement to others, not necessarily a badge of honor for just one part of my life. I don't know if he completely understands where I'm coming from but I'm glad we talked about it. Based on our conversation, saying I'm a 'former' single mom vs I 'was' a single mom translates better to him. I still don't see the difference really, but I'll say it if it makes him feel better (men are some interesting creatures!) Lol
Anywho, there are a lot of us 'former' single moms out here who need to encourage those who are still in the midst of this season of their life. I don't know about any others, but it was a struggle at times and a true test of my faith more times than I care to count, especially with three boys. I'm grateful for the strength The Lord gave me and the many people He sent to support and encourage me and mentor the kids. We were truly blessed by those people who didn't look down on us but lifted us up.
When we took our spiritual gifts assessment, I was told that my strongest spiritual gift is that of encouragement and The Lord put it on my heart to encourage others in this area so I cannot be disobedient when it comes to giving my testimony. I even met a lady at a business conference today who said to me clearly that I have some hidden talents buried within... Shame on me for not developing those talents and multiplying what God has given me for His glory! It's time to come out of the shell and shine the light.
So what is your badge of honor? What is MY badge of honor? My badge of honor is that even with all my failures, faults, and flaws, I'm still a Kingdom Woman. I'm a Proverbs 31 Woman and I'm a Titus 2 Woman... and so are you. It's our turn to be people who lift others up and allow our "misery to be our ministry" (thanks for that quote Chrystal Hurst!).
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