Back in late winter, I came across the work of
Sally Clarkson, a podcaster and blogger. She began the organization Whole Heart
Ministries with her husband in the 1990s and has been working with mothers and
families ever since. She had authored the introduction to a book I was reading,
and her connection with the book's writer got me curious about Sally's work. I
soon found that she has a very active blog site, with about two new blog posts
plus accompanying podcasts every week, and has written quite a few books.
Since Sally's ministry focuses on mothers--a
position for which I keep applying and am still waiting for a
"yes"!--I felt some apprehension about spending much time listening
to her talks. At the same time, I was intrigued by her wisdom and by her gentle
determination to persevere by God's strength in the face of life's
difficulties. Soon after I began listening to her podcasts with some
regularity, Sally and her husband, Clay, did a series of talks to accompany
their newest book release, The Life-Giving Parent. And then, as the
summer neared, Sally announced that she would be doing podcast series on two of
her older books: The Mission of Motherhood, and The Ministry of
Motherhood.
In the case of each of these series, I wondered if
I really wanted to fill my mind with focused thoughts of parenthood, a stage
that still seems quite out of my reach. I realized, though, that choosing to
listen to these talks was a way to practice hope. I choose every day to hope
that I will arrive at parenthood in the Lord's perfect timing, and listening to
podcasts that help prepare me for that opportunity is a pointed way of
manifesting that hope. After all, I am really thankful for resources that
prepare me to be the best parent I possibly can; I often find myself thinking, "I'm
so glad I was able to learn these ideas before I become a parent."
I'm so glad that I've begun to focus on the idea of
hopeful patience. It's a strong antidote to my old mental habits of automatically assuming
defeat and of fearing to risk expectancy. And Sally's messages help reinforce
the attitudes that I am seeking to cultivate. As she wrote on her blog on
October 4th, 2018, "Hope is not natural--it is supernatural.
Hope comes welling up from deep inside because of a belief that God is good.
That He will win in the end. That there is always hope when God is
present." I'm so thankful that God gives me voices like Sally's to
encourage me and remind me of what is true.
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