March 18, 2015

I love fresh herbs. Herbs have such beautiful and unique smells. Did you know they are like flowers in that they have their own set of meanings?

Let’s look at some of them and see if we can take away some ideas for us as leaders.

Devotion (Lavender)

When you are devoted to something, you end up putting your best effort into it. When you are a women’s ministry leader, it stands to reason that you are going to put your best foot forward and really work at the job. We have to develop a love and devotion for working with women.

Wisdom (Sage)

Sage is given the meaning of long life and wisdom. With time your wisdom as a leader will grow. You will learn to be comfortable with your decisions. No one knows everything when they start out. Even those of us who have done this for a long time still don’t know everything but we are continually gaining wisdom

Good Cheer (Dill)

We sure could use a little good cheer where women’s ministry is involved. Our leaders can’t be constantly discouraged or they won’t get anything done. You have to survive in the face of odds. You will have opposition. It might be things or even people so you have to get your joy from the joy source – the Lord.

Strength (Thyme)

Thyme is the symbol of courage and strength. We can be the type of leader that is courageous. We just have to get our strength from the Lord. We have to lean on Him as we go about working in ministry. We can’t do it by ourselves. We have to know Who the source of our strength is.

Success or Reward (Laurel or Bay)

Face it. You are not always going to receive praise because of the efforts you put into women’s ministry. You may not see the rewards of it on this earth. There will be days when you feel like you are just spinning your wheels but being an impact on the lives of women is worth it.

Count the little victories that you see in your women’s ministry. These are the rewards. It could be a lady accepting Christ, someone coming for the first time, spiritual growth, deeper prayer lives, or any improvement you see in your women’s ministry no matter how small.

Lasting Involvement (Tarragon)

What you do as a leader can make an impact. You have the power to teach and make a real difference in the lives of women. Talk about lasting involvement. You might be the spark that sets off the course of someone’s life in the right direction.

Unity (Lemon Verbena)

Unity can play a big part in how a women’s ministry group moves forward. As leaders we need to keep unity in mind as well, not just for our women’s group but we have to be thinking how the group operates within the local church itself.

We need to encourage unity as a whole and not try to separate ourselves from under our respective churches. Above all we have to keep our own thinking and actions in line with unity.

Final Thoughts

When we talk about fresh herbs we are talking about herbs that haven’t been dried out. Their scent and usefulness hasn’t faded. Fresh herbs add the peak of flavor and that’s what we should be doing.

As leaders we ought to be adding in that flavor of graciousness in what we do and say. We need to be fresh and pleasurable people to be around if we are going to accomplish anything for Christ.

Herbs are also used for medicinal purposes. How much healing are we promoting in our women’s ministry? Are we encouraging forgiveness and unity?

What we are doing has lasting value. We need to make sure we extend the love of Christ through what we promote and how we serve. We need to remain fresh so we don’t fade out in our service for Christ.

Things are not always going to be easy as a leader. There are going to be things that come along that weigh on us and that will try us. We will definitely feel like we are drying out and that we aren’t so fresh anymore, but we can’t lose heart. We have to keep serving the Lord. Eternity is what it is all about.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (KJV)

If we will just stay close to the Lord and depend on Him, He will give us our strength. He’ll renew us day by day. He’ll keep us fresh.

So, how fresh are you?

Copyright ©2015 Julia Bettencourt

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