"You don’t know God is all you need until God is all you’ve got."

On the first night of middle school life groups, fourteen girls showed up thirsty for community and Jesus. I'm so blessed to be given the chance to minister to these girls. Some of these girls don't know Jesus is what they need. At their age I didn't know it either, until one day my eyes we're  opened. That's when this quote from Rick Warren happened to me, "you don't know God is all you need until God is all you've got." 

At 12 years old my life had been turned upside down. My father divorced the only family I had ever really known. My step-mother was like a real mom to me. I was told to leave the house I grew up in. Leave a step-brother and step-sister that I've known since they were born. I wasn't allowed to contact them at all. At 12 this is devastating. The next thing I know, my father is  involved with another woman and we are moving about 200 miles away to a place where I didn't know anyone. 

I needed God and he was there for me. I didn't know that was what I needed at the time. I missed my family like crazy. I was in another new school trying to fit it. In a place where I knew no one. In an area of Virginia where I had no "home." God called my name. I was a baby Christian and he walked with me. As a teen and a new Christian I was in desperate need for a savior. He was always there for me. I guess at the time I couldn't see it. As I look back on that time I can see God's hand on my shoulder guiding me through all the rough patches. I didn't have a church community or Christian friends to help me. I definitely didn't have a small group leader to talk out my fears and struggles with.

I believe God uses our struggles to help walk with other people. I can see that now in my life as he has called me to walk with middle school students. I know the struggles they are facing. I understand that need to be accepted and I know the desire to have someone who will listen and give advice based on Gods Word. I've been there. 

That's the whole point of going through struggles, I believe. We've been there and survived. I couldn't have done it without Jesus. God was truly my savior. He kept me from making some truly bad mistakes. I believe he allowed me to go through these things so I can one day become a small group leader, a mentor, to teens. Wow! Isn't that amazing! 

I may be able to make a difference in someone else's life. Rick Warren also says this, "How does God want you to be a witness this week to the unbelievers in your life who are hurting and need hope? He wants you to say, ‘Pain really got my attention. Let me tell you what I learned. I learned that I need people in my life when I’m going through pain. I learned that God is all I need. ‘ "  We are called to be a witness for God. To tell people what God has done in our lives. It's not our job to convince them to trust God, but to tell what he's done for us and how we found out that he was all we needed. I pray every day that I can be that witness to these girls. 

Last night we wrote down what a woman after God's own heart looks like. The answers just kept flowing out of these girls. Patient. Kind. Loving. Loyal. Forgiving. Caring. Selfless. Brave. Courageous. Thankful. On and on they came. Then I asked the question,"which ones did you struggle with the most today?" I want them to have a starting point. We don't know where we are going unless we know where we started. This is their goal. To be women after God's own heart we have to start where we struggle the most and ask God to change us day by day. 

Pray for these girls as they go, each day, asking God to make them young women after God's own heart. What a difference you can make in their lives by just praying for them. Lift up your voices in praise for their desire to be women after God's own heart. Pray for their struggle as we trip and fall. But knowing that these girls make bible study a priority in their life, is an inspiration to me. I too want to be a woman after God's own heart.

In Christ's love,

~Tina Foster~