By Jennifer Pearson
Brave Women Series - Jennifer's Story
I was saved at the age of twelve, of that I am certain. What I am also certain of is that while I understood the road to salvation, I did not understand the daily walk with the Lord. I did not grasp the truth that God saves us and calls us to himself for the purpose of us bringing him honor and making his name known.
However, many years after college and marriage, I remember hearing a sermon on spiritual fruit. Afterwards, my thoughts went something like this: I am a good person—I do not steal, do not murder and I treat people good for the most part. But when the Pastor recited John 15:4 that day, my eyes were opened to so much of what I had missed over the years.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
The truth is this; for as long as I could remember, I had tried to do life my way with a little bit of Jesus when it was convenient, combined with a lot of the world and what it expected of me. Riding the fence had resulted in me falling off on the wrong side more times than I could count. I knew God, I loved Him, I just did not have a total understanding of how to abide in Him.
"Riding the fence had resulted in me falling off on the wrong side more times than I could count. I knew God, I loved Him, I just did not have a total understanding of how to abide in Him."
The weeks following this sermon would breed a curiosity and desire to understand what it meant to abide in Christ. I began to pursue Him daily by spending time studying His Word, learning from Him and being in prayer with Him. This time of abiding was life changing for me. The joy that came in return is something that I cannot put into words. This time of learning how to discipline myself for Christ not only taught me the importance of walking with Him each day, but it also taught me the importance of my role as a wife.
"This time of learning how to discipline myself for Christ not only taught me the importance of walking with Him each day, but it also taught me the importance of my role as a wife."
Had I prayed for my husband in the years prior – Yes, of course I had. But had I truly devoted myself to praying for his relationship with God – No, I had not. That time birthed a diligence in praying powerfully for him and his relationship with the Almighty God. I prayed that Christ would mold him more into who he was created to be. I prayed persistently for not just my husband, but in addition to this, my role as his wife.
"Had I prayed for my husband in the years prior – Yes, of course I had. But had I truly devoted myself to praying for his relationship with God – No, I had not."
I prayed day after day that the Lord would allow our marriage to be a testimony to those around us, that he would love me as Christ loved the Church, that as his wife, I would treat Him with the level of respect the Lord designed me to and lastly, that He would use my husband to lead our family closer to Him. Thanks be to a loving God, over the following years, Chris and I both began to grow in our faith, and we started to see the blessing of this relationship God had ordained.
A few years later my husband and I sat outside by the fire one night after our children were asleep. We both revealed that we felt the Lord was calling us to something, but we had no idea what it was. We agreed to pray over the next month and ask that he would show us. For some reason we thought that the Creator of the Universe needed a month to answer our prayer.
Only a couple of weeks later, Chris was headed home from a business trip and called me with anxious excitement. He said, “Jenn, I know what the Lord wants us to do.” He arrived home hours, walked in the door, pulled me into His arms and with such certainty He said, “babe, God wants us to adopt a child.”
You can imagine my surprise as it was something we had never discussed. We decided to pray further on it, and in all His goodness, the Lord gently reminded me of the prayer I had prayed repeatedly for my husband. “Lord, allow our marriage to be a testimony to those around us, that Chris would love me as Christ loved the Church and that He would use Chris to lead our family closer to Christ.”
"The Lord gently reminded me of the prayer I had prayed repeatedly for my husband. “Lord, allow our marriage to be a testimony to those around us, that Chris would love me as Christ loved the Church and that He would use Chris to lead our family closer to Christ.”
We began the adoption journey within a month. I remember asking Chris one day how the Lord revealed this to Him. To keep short the conversation, he said that we had been blessed and he wanted to use those blessings to give a baby in a need of a home an actual family to grow up in. He then said something that I will never forget. He said, “I do not know what it is Jenn, I cannot explain it –it just feels like the Lord has really been working on me for the past several years.”
I am thankful for the years prior when the Lord revealed to me that as a wife my duty is to respect him and pray for Him. Abiding in Christ was the turning point in my marriage and my life as a whole. The Lord taught me what it meant to rest in Him and trust His plans. He showed us how to be bravely selfless – with each other, with our family and with our time. God grew me, grew my husband, and grew our family by one more.
"Abiding in Christ was the turning point in my marriage and my life as a whole. The Lord taught me what it meant to rest in Him and trust His plans. He showed us how to be bravely selfless – with each other, with our family and with our time."
Sixteen months after that conversation we brought home our baby girl from Bogota, Colombia. She is truly one of my greatest earthly blessings. The truth is, she is a result of a beautifully answered prayer I never knew I was praying.
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About Jennifer
Jennifer Pearson is first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. Her and her husband live in Georgia where they raise their three children ranging from seventeen to five years old. She graduated from The University of West Georgia in Carrollton, GA, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication in hopes of pursuing her lifelong dream of being a writer and author. However, that dream didn’t happen right away. While she was in a season of raising children and creating a home, the Lord was calling her closer into His family and teaching her to focus on her eternal home.
Her first published book, Growing in God, was where her childhood dream and the Holy Spirit came together. As she continues writing, blogging, and growing her ministry, Joyfully HIS, she is also pursing a Master of Arts Degree in Christian Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Connect with Jennifer on her website joyfullyhis.org, as well as Facebook and Instagram.
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