Do You Validate?

I had an interesting “aha!” moment last week that I want to tell you about because it kind of woke me up a bit. And that’s always a good thing! It changed something inside of me & so far I really like the change.

The background is that I have had a few tough weeks at my job, which is weird to call a “job” because I love it so much that I would do it for free (and have). My hubs & I, along with a team of others are overseers of a ministry school that is really more about getting your inner life transformed than becoming a preacher. In fact we kind of shudder at the thought of creating more preachers & pastors in a world that really needs more passionately caring surgeons, bankers, teachers, carpenters etc.

I love what I get to do every day but……..there are always a few students who complain & criticize the school, even though they chose to come & are paying to be there…….& those negative words about what we do were kinda getting to me. It happens every year & I have been learning not to take it personally but it’s amazing how 2 negative words can so outweigh 10 positive words! Why is that?

So my “aha!” moment was last week as I listened to some of our former students come back & talk to the current students about their lives & how impacting their school time was for them & how thankful they are for our school. Two of our students from Denmark graduated last June & are now married & leading a church there using the things they learned in our school. Two others talked about their recent move to the Philippines to start a school like ours. They described the practical ways they are changing the lives of the people who live in the slum areas & providing college scholarships to the children there. Another young lady is working as a mentor to at-risk teen-agers in her town; they are referred to her by the local Juvenal hall. Another student described praying for a guy in a motorcycle accident on the freeway even though the EMT had given him up for dead, no pulse. The student said his mind was blank & he tried to recall all he had learned about praying for the sick & remembered that the words & formulas are not important. So he just found a clean spot to touch the guy & said ‘God, don’t let this guy die.” The guy coughed sat up & said, “Hey I think I was in an accident!” Ha!

As I sat there listening to this stuff my eyes filled & I felt overwhelmed to be a part of their lives. I also thought, “I wish the rest of the church staff could hear this.” (The school is connected to our church.)

A few days later other former students shared similar stories at the church staff meeting & again my thought was, “Wow, I sure wish the current class could hear these stories.” Immediately I “heard” God ask me a one word question…."Why?” Oh man, He is good at those tiny little one word questions that carry some huge meaning!

Now I could easily have said that my reason for wanting others to hear the stories was because I wanted to uplift them & encourage them….but nope that was not my motivation at all. So, my honest answer (what other kind of answer can you give Him? Ha!) was, “Umm validation?” I wanted others to see what we have done in the school & that it was a worthy & valid thing we were giving our lives to. I want some credit, some kudos. God then said one more thing to me, “The only ones who need to know the true value of what you do, are you & your husband.”

And those last words I heard made a huge difference inside me. That difference has also affected the outside of me now as I am walking straighter, looking my co-workers & students in the eye with a new authority & confidence. I know where my validation comes from & that assurance has given me a new strength & joy in what I do & in who I am. Last night as I changed the status on my Face Book page I hesitated before pushing the button to post it. Can I really say this about myself? Yep! My new status line says, “Brenda is changing the world one handful of students at a time!” Woo-hoo!

(Here are a few of our gang telling a special couple on our staff who were moving away, what God had to say about them. They wrote, drew & sang His words to them! )