I’m Sharon. I am a wife to the love of my life, Momma to some amazing kids, and Mimzi to the little munchkins that have stolen my heart. I am a Lover of Jesus and I am not ashamed of who He has made me to be. I embrace the day that I became ‘free in Christ’ and accepted the plan and path that He has given me. Freedom is a “Beautiful” thing!!!
Ever since I can remember I have loved words. To write is therapy: a way of escape. My writing had always been just for me until Jesus began whispering something different. Those hidden, forgotten dreams tucked deep inside, desiring to come out, began to surface frequently. I remembered how real those desires were to me. With each whisper, He began breathing life into them. Oh, the way He writes our story is so amazing! Today, I am embracing the dreams that He has borne in me and hope to encourage others to do the same.
How Did I Get Right Here?
I believe completely in Providence! I believe in perfect timing, for He controls all things. This timing came with each and every day. I would journal the changes that had come into our lives. I wanted to document where we had been, His promises spoken and the answers to our prayers, even when the answer was ‘no’. I wanted to have a memorial to come back to in the hard times. Believe me when I tell you, there have been hard times. Our life has taken many twists and turns that we never expected. The LORD pulled us away from almost everything that was familiar. He began working, making changes that were little, big, expected, unexpected, wanted and to be honest, not wanted. It hasn’t been easy, for we are creatures of habit. Change is hard. Removing the familiar leaves us grasping and gathering for little pieces of our surroundings to bring comfort. We were heading on a journey that He knew all about. He knew the way and we were going to be required to trust Him if we were going with Him. Little by little, things began to be removed. A comfort here, a comfort there… gone. The one constant that always stood before us, His Word. Daily I would ‘journal the journey’. We were definitely on an adventure! And to be honest, it hasn’t all come with embracing and smiles. I have cried a river.
In my daily devotions, He would prompt me with the word, “write.” Do you know how many scriptures there are about this subject? To me, it felt like millions. Over and over, He would call to my heart. I would tuck it away in disbelief. Really? Me? Write what? To whom? But just as His nature is constant, His calling to my heart continued. Whispers here and there at first. As time went on the whispers became louder, more prominent, more detailed. I could not deny the truth that was being spoken and increasing in my heart. I surrendered. This part of the journey has been eight years in the making (and counting). I remember the awakening very well. This first whisper came while I was closed up unto Him during a mission trip to Kenya. I never want to forget that moment! Since that day, I have been in His school of preparation for the journey ahead. Now, I can embrace it, but at first, my whole world was shaken. I have been learning about Him, about me, about who He sees when He looks at me. His Word and His preparation calls to my heart that it is time…”Time to Fly!” “So LORD, I ask for wings. Take me to fulfill this plan that You have designed for me. May I bring You honor and Glory with my life and the words that You speak through me. Oh please LORD, let them be Yours.”
The Journey Before the ‘Right Here’:
Broken past. Broken road. Broken life. I was a complete train wreck! Life. This was not living and I wanted out. Thoughts that I am not proud of today were very real then. BUT JESUS came and rescued me. I had never felt so alive, so loved and so free. Thank You, Jesus my Savior! That night also brought into my life the man I would marry. Yes, he came out visiting that night with his pastor. Billy is my soul mate and he completes me, even though he can drive me a little wackadoodle. I would not change him, with craziness comes much laughter (and never a dull moment). He has truly loved me unconditionally, and let me tell you, brokenness comes with baggage, lots and lots of baggage. Within months of our marriage he surrendered to the call to preach. That has been over thirty years ago. We have raised two children, made a lot of memories and many mistakes. We have become in-laws and we love it. And then we became grandparents. We LOVE being Poppy and Mimzi… it is pure love and joy! Let me just say right here, there are not enough pages to express this season of our lives. Besides, we would quickly get off topic, so let me get back to the subject at hand. Our lives have had ups and downs, twists and turns, hurts and happiness, tragedy and triumph, but all in all we are living in the abundant life that Jesus has written in our story.
In 2012, Billy resigned the pastorate that had been our home for fourteen years. We had no idea what the LORD had in store for us. Jesus had many surprises. We have shared our lives with broken and hurting people, in broken and hurting churches. Our lot had been for Billy to Interim Pastor as the LORD opened doors. During our fourth Interim, the LORD called us to get planted. So here we are planting on the land that He has so graciously and surprisingly given us. This ministry, this journey has taught us much about the love and grace of our Heavenly Father. We have traveled, met precious people, become familiar with loneliness and isolation, found out who we are and who we are not, learned about brokenness, studied and fed from the Word, cried, laughed, cried some more, been angry, been broken, asked forgiveness … I could go on and on, but you get the idea. It is His journey for us and it has adventure attached to it. I know Jesus more today than I ever have. He knows what our tomorrow holds, where we will be and where we are going. All I have is because of Him. I owe Him all of me and nothing less will do. He has taken my ‘broken’ and made it “Beautiful.” Hence this blog, “The Broken Beautiful.” I hope to touch your broken places with His words and bring beauty to them. No matter what you may think, Jesus has a designed plan for your broken life and it is Beautiful!