Fixing Her Eyes in 2020

What have you found hard? Like most of Australia the hardest part has been spending most of my working week on zoom. I love coaching leaders but never realised how much I love doing that in person and preferably at a coffee shop! It is so much harder to read and listen to the whole person (body language etc) over zoom. It is also harder to really walk alongside leaders, to celebrate wins and mourn losses from a distance. I will be excited when coaching happens over coffee again!

What has surprised you? I think the varying levels of resilience in our community has surprised me. People deal with change and challenges in many different ways but I would have to say I am genuinely surprised by the resilience I have seen in some people, especially our young generations. Their willingness to adapt and be creative on a moment's notice has been life giving. We often give our younger generations a hard time for being entitled, but throughout this season I have seen them demonstrate more hope and resilience than many of our older generations!

What have you learned about yourself? I have learned to simply ‘be’. God has been doing a work in me over the past 12-18 months helping me to live into the fullness of who he created me to be. This season has been a great time of self reflection, of learning to align my view of myself with God’s view of me, and growing the courage to step into that wholeheartedly. For me, that means leaving behind my current role, entering further study and going after what God has given me a passion for, raising pioneering leaders for the Australian church.

What have you learned about God? I have learned again that God is incredibly faithful and generous. At every point, as I discerned different options for my next steps, God gave me all I needed to make the decisions I needed to make. Often after a key decision was made, God in his generosity would reveal something new that both confirmed the decision that was made, and continued to lovingly call me forward to the next step. Leaving a church after ministering there for 10 years is a huge decision, but God in his faithfulness and generosity has made it a much gentler journey.

What is one thing that has brought you joy this season?

One thing that has brought me joy is the space to be creative. Creativity for me isn’t about craft, it’s about creating. My husband and I launch a new business with some friends and we built a backyard ninja course and a new deck. I love the feeling of creating and completing a new project! In this season there has also been a new freedom for creativity within the church. Many are looking around and exploring new expressions of church and there have been some fantastic conversations around this which has filled me with joy and hope for the future of the church in Australia.