| MY STORY |
As a little girl, I had a deep hunger for God, but had absolutely no idea how to find Him. I would walk to church alone hoping to find what I was looking for, but everyone automatically assumed that a child who would make the effort to do that must be “saved” already. Because of that, everyone neglected to show me what I desperately needed to know. As a teenager I was one of the lucky ones to find a “hunk” of a guy who loved and lived for God, but I was afraid if I told him I didn’t know how to become a Christian, he would be ashamed of me. So I simply went forward in the church we were attending, and I was told I needed to "join” the church. I was blessed enough to marry that fellow, but I still hungered inside to really “know” God. Finally, as a 21-year old young wife and mother of two kids at that time (three now and “Nana” to six more!), I cried out to the Lord to send someone into my life that would show me how to know Him. At a Billy Graham crusade, He sent that person who showed me the Way to know Him personally, and I received Him as my Lord and Savior. Nothing has ever been the same since. He changed my life and gave me all the meaning and fulfillment I had ever hoped to find. Today, over 35 years later and still married to that same “hunk,” I can honestly say God has never let me down. He has always been faithful -- even when I was not. After finally finding what I had been looking for all my life, I had a burning desire to know how to be the woman, wife and mother God would have me to be. In those days there was little teaching specifically for women on these subjects, and what was out there was vague and offered little help in practical application. The description of the model woman in Proverbs 31 and the Titus 2:3-5 teaching for women soon became my life’s goal, but I remained frustrated in how to put those teachings into practice. For example, I knew I was to love my husband, and I did very much, but found it awfully hard to live out that love on those days when I would rather “choke him like a chicken!” And love my children -- oh, did I! I knew my purpose in life was to teach and train them to serve our Lord, but that knowledge only made me feel like a failure on those days (and there were many for a mother of three boys!) when total chaos seemed to rule the roost. I knew I needed help, and there seemed no where to turn for it. On one of those days when I had about all I could take, a scene erupted in our little kitchen in Florence, SC. I stood there totally frustrated, watching as my three young sons sat around my feet. They were wailing to the tops of their voices! I don’t remember what caused all the racket, but I do remember doing the only other thing I knew to do at the time: I joined right in there with them – wailing and crying out to my Daddy – God. As they soon quieted in wide-eyed wonder, I cried out, “Lord, I want to be the right kind of mom. I want to raise them right. I want to be a good and godly wife. I just don’t know how! I need a teacher, a mentor to show me. I need you, Lord, and I need a human who cares and knows what I don’t. Why won’t you send someone Lord?" And taking this little tantrum up a notch, I stomped my foot in frustration and shouted, “And when I am an old woman, don’t let me forget this! Help me to be willing to help young moms learn what no one seems willing to teach me now!” I was still a very young Christian and didn’t know any better than to pitch a tantrum with my Lord. In His mercy and grace. He did send some humans to help along the way, but mostly He Himself was my help -- through His Word -- teaching and training me through each season of life as each new struggle presented itself. I forgot all about that tantrum, never thinking about it again until September 2001. I was having my devotions and prayer time while attending our church ladies retreat when the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “It's time!” I didn’t get it at first, but then that scene in the kitchen flashed across my mind seemingly in slow motion as each and every word I spoke came back to me. He then spoke again to my heart: "You promised. You asked me to not let you forget. Now its time to do just that – teach them.” I looked up to see all the young moms sitting around me that day. The Lord’s tender voice continued: “Teach them what I have taught you. They need to know, and I am calling you to be the one to teach them.” That is when “Living in A Zoo” classes & books were born. Over the next few years, I taught these classes at my home church, Hunter Hills Baptist Church (which is now Life Community Church in Jamestown, NC.) Little did I know that His plan was for more than just the ladies of my church. Now some seven years later, God has allowed my ladies Bible study book to be published, and I've had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of ladies in many different churches. To Him be the glory! -- Brenda Lancaster |
