Thursday, March 15, 2012

she calls me minny & she's my skeeter


 i know for me, when something seems monumental
i'm a little intimidated to tackle it or break it down.
i sure don't want to overwhelm ya'll with what the lord's been doing in my heart
& what He did over the last several months
& then brought to fruition the past weekend,
but i'm still struggling with just how to verbalize everything.
well, that & i don't want to saturate you with multiple posts.
i have 33 posts in my drafts & yesterday i sat down to write about my friends
& the pearl event
& walked away thinking that i should just slap one of those up instead.

so...my disclaimer in advance,
there'll be more than one post.
ok, now that i've got that out the way let me start at the beginning...

sibi sees the good in people.
she loves on 'em, makes a fuss over them & verbally affirms them.
she dreams big. with chandeliers and gigantic roses.
despite a past that i only know a fraction of
with stories of abuse and abandonment,
she longs to share the story of her savior
& how he filled her years & years of brokeness with wholeness.

she shares about the pearl:
  formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant, or an attack from outside.
& longs to tell women that we are His pearl
a metaphor to describe how priceless & valuable we are.

i love this friend of mine. we've been url friends
that became real life friends.
when she asked me months ago to come & speak at her event
i had no idea that, once i said yes, the lord would do such a work in my own heart
while i prepared to share with 200+ women!

i was running one day & thinking about how on earth i was going to turn down sibi's request
(with all my sweetest southern manners possible.of course)
when he put a reminder in my heart,
to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone 
who asks me to give the reason for the hope that i have.
(1 peter 3.15)

 i knew i had to share my story ( not just "the sad" chapter)
but the story of how i learned my God would come through always.
that when i lift my eyes up, my help comes from the lord.
not from a self help book or positive thinking,
not from anything i did myself or from sucking it up & just doing it.
the part of my story where despite living such an easy and blessed life early on
that i truly learned more about the lord's love and provision
 during the saddest darkest time of my life.

thank you sibi for seeing something in me
that i didn't know was there.
thank you for being a woman that not only has a gentle & quiet spirit
that listens for him and to him,
but then acts on those words.
thank you for covering this event in prayer and fasting.
for showing me what living a life sold out to him 
looks like in real time.
thank you for sacrificing so much to make the pearl event a reality.
i considered it one of the highest honors 
to stand beside you last weekend.
i love you pearl...


i spent a long time looking for a video that i thought would be a great intro for my talk.
my theme was trust your story, trust your author 
& find your voice.
being a lover of so many stories, i spent some time looking at you tube videos
for my one of my favorites.
originally thinking i would share the trailor, i 'bout did a standing back handspring
when i saw the following.
perfect!
(maybe you'll see why she calls me minny...
& i call her skeeter, "the person helping bring about change")

alrighty, for all you fans of "The Help", enjoy....




15 comments:

Charity said...

You have taken care of my post on who Sibi is. Your words are so true and beautiful, I am thankful that you are doing many post! I hand wrote my post this morning 8 pages front and back---I might put people to sleep, ha. I thought of you often and the uphill run and the need to lean in while writing. You touched my heart deeply with you openness to share. Your desire to lean in and not build walls around your heart is beautiful and I have learn much from you.

Cha Cha

Home: Inside and Out said...

Gosh. Post as many times as you like... it warms my soul over and over just thinking about last weekend. I'm going to be dehydrated from all these tears, though.

Tracey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tracey said...

Oh My, you have done it again! Tears, tears, tears! I so wish I would have gone to this event, maybe next time. I certainly could use some affirmation, encouragement, and hope. Keep them coming Paige, I could read your posts forever.

Your friend -
Tracey

martha said...

many stories told, and they WERE like prayers, and praises!
Thanks for telling yours!

Bethanie said...

We're living vicariously through your posts Paige...those of us who couldnt be there and have prayed for you this past weekend...we're dying to hear how it all went!! You have shared so much with all of us and bring me to tears many a morning. Thank you for encouraging me. xoxo

Michelle said...

I am reading this and thinking that I would love to bring a bunch of wonderful women from my church next year to The Pearl. Since I follow many of the speakers blogs, I can just imagine what each of the speakers spoke about. What a treat. Thank you for sharing.

Ciao Marezy said...

Paige, I don't think you could have picked a better intro video. Perfect. Post as many times as you need. This is going to be a wonderful, glorious, God-filled story that I am sure none of us want to miss out on!!

3 Peanuts said...

You two are a beautiful powerful pair! you are doing just what God wants you to be doing:)

I kinda had to not think too much about last weekend (except for my praying for y'all) cause I wanted to be there so badly. I cannot wit to hear/see all the details. Share away. The Lord is asking you to share. You cannot ignore that.

Love you gals!

Tiffany said...

so wonderful paige!

please post as much as you are lead to and don't worry if any think its too much! i love hearing your heart and how you share about others! The more you share the more I feel a part of the Pearl event since I couldn't be there in person!

thank you!
xoTiffany

patricia e said...

~ Beautiful in every way ~

Unknown said...

You touched my heart.

Privet and Holly said...

A friend like that
truly IS the pearl ~
that perfection which
was born over time
and trials. I love
this clip from The
Help. I wonder if
your Pearl presentation
is on You Tube?

Thanks for sharing
your beautiful heart
and your insight on
Sibi's, too!

xx Suzanne

merirobin said...

It was so good to meet you last weekend. Your "story" and how you told it was so honest and such a beautiful example of how God's "Big" master plan works!
And you are always welcome to come back to Franklin ...my cabin in the woods is a great place!

Robin Carter
(merirobinseyes.blogspot.com)

C Grace Design said...

You're just awesome Paige...wow, wow! XOXO