...is something all of us ask everyday, especially in tough situations.

It is hard to imagine that I have been involved in women’s ministry for 3 years. I struggled with feeling accepted by women my whole life, always feeling like an outsider. So, imagine my surprise when I was approached by Jen Carlson in 2007 to join women’s ministry. But God knew why – He knew what I needed to experience and what was to happen at Harvest the next couple of years.

Leadership often involves hard work along with ups and downs, but what we tend to forget about are the many blessings that we are privileged to experience as a result of it. The biggest for me has to be the sisterhood that has developed among the women of the team. When God put the three of us together in 2007, we didn’t know what to expect. We were three different women coming from three very different places in life. I knew that there were walls built up between myself and one others and uncertainty with where I stood with the other. But now I can confidently say that I love these women with all of my heart and can’t imagine my life without them!

2007 was tough for this ministry. We felt like we were rebuilding it from the ground up. We needed a new plan that covered our goals, a budget, and a course of action for why we were going to do what we do. Who were we to do that? So, we talked every week, seriously for like at least 3 hours a call (husbands had to be annoyed) and met what felt like all the time. But it all came together as we sought the Lord through prayer and then something also happened in 2007 that changed my life altogether.

The loss of a child is something that happens everyday to so many expecting women and I thought I escaped that statistic. But for some reason God had different plans. Honestly, the struggle was hard and I did not think I would recover from it. How as His servant, could this happen? Hearing the tears from my team members, I felt their love and sharing of my pain. Their actions to protect me and help me after that will never be forgotten. I don’t know what I would have done if I were not on the team or a part of this special sisterhood during that time. As a result of this experience, God opened many doors and allowed a bond to happen with many women that wouldn’t have happened to me otherwise.

How does this connect to women’s ministry? If three women who live in totally different locations, in different stages of life, different circle of friends and different perspectives on most things can come together to not only serve Him but become One in Christ, then there is nothing God can’t do. Women will always have walls or superficial lines that may separate them from each other, but as a child of God, you are not separated from His love. That love can conquer and supersede all differences. Why should we miss out on the blessings that God has in store for us? Look around you, there are women around that may surprise you and end up being true sisters for life. That is our hope for the women of Harvest. I know now, that He used our friendship through the ministry team to remind us of who He is and what He can do, so that we may be inspired to continue to make that possible among the women of Harvest and ultimately for His children everywhere.

Jen Cho
Women's Ministry