Tucking Belief In

“She tucked belief right into me.  Women can do that for each other.”

A few weeks ago I read this lovely line written by Ann Voskamp who was talking about her grandmother who called out gifts in her that she was afraid to believe.

Last year our youngest daughter, Maggie, graduated from college and accepted an internship with the International Justice Mission.  She prepared to leave home and live in Guatemala City for a year.

The transition between college and “the real world” is a scary one.  Like jumping off a cliff and hoping you hit the water and remember how to swim.  A time of hard decisions and what-if-I-don’t-make-it fears.

To launch Maggie into this new season, she and I invited a group of women for brunch.  Women who had loved her, and prayed for her, and poured into her for many years. 

I asked each of them to bring a word for Maggie, accompanied by a blessing, a prayer, encouragement, or advice. 

The wise and gracious words from these women were like the gifts the wise men brought the baby Jesus – precious and beautiful, and valuable, but more practical and personal than gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Like Ann’s quote, they were “tucking belief into her.”

One, prayed Jeremiah 17:7 and shared the word ROOTS and made a collage of words shaped like a tree with roots reaching deep down into the goodness of God.

Another gave her HEART and shared this quote from Anne Lamott:

There’s a lovely Hasidic story of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, ‘Why on our hearts, and not in them?’ The rabbi answered, ‘Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your hearts, and then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.

A third gave the word MAGGIE because she said in this new season she was certain God would teach her more of who He made her to be.

Amazing women with different gifts, different life experiences, different perspectives.  

Tucking belief right into her - belief in the good gifts God has given Maggie and will call out of her.

Who are we doing that for today?