One Woman Makes All the Difference

Week 18, Wednesday

Debbie Stuart

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” John 4:39

It all started with my mother. She married young and found herself in a hopeless situation. One Saturday morning her neighbor, Jean, invited her to church. She heard for the first time that the Lord loved her, gave His life for her, and had a plan and a purpose for her life. She accepted Christ and vowed to follow Him for the rest of her days. She joined a women’s Bible study group called the Deborah class. Those women loved her and became involved in her life. She began to thrive! They taught her practical lessons about life, marriage, and finances but also spiritual things that she longed to know more about. This investment changed the course of history for her, my family, and generations to come.

My name is Deborah Jean. It was given to me in honor of those women who made a difference in my mother’s life.

Little did we know that for my mom “the rest of her days” would not be many. She lost a battle with cancer and stepped into heaven when she was forty. I was twenty-three and had a five-week-old baby boy. Jarrad was her first grandchild.

I was devastated and depressed. But the Lord began to walk other women into my life who made a huge impact. My mom, because she died so young, was not my spiritual mentor. It was other women who made a significant spiritual investment in my life. They loved me and prayed me through some very dark days. And I began to thrive! The Lord used them to affirm God’s call on my life to ministry.

I am not the leader of women’s ministry at one of the largest churches in the United States because of skill, education, or any other ability. I am here because of the providence of God and other women. Years ago one woman stepped into the life of another woman and it changed the course of history.

“One life is of priceless value to God’s Kingdom and yours may be that life.”[i]

Thank You, Lord, for bringing into my life other women who have made a spiritual impact. I offer my life to You today to use as You please. Help me look back and find someone I can help and look ahead to find someone who can help me as well. Bind our generations together with cords that cannot be broken. Amen.

[i] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Westwood, NJ: Barbour, 1963).