Put On Your Rally Cap
This is a subject that’s been on my heart for quite some time, but I have left it pinned to the walls of my heart, away from intimidation of its magnitude. Silent, unspoken, but consistently thought on.
I’m talking about true friendship. Genuine sisterhood. Women really being FOR each other. It can be so hard to find and when you think you’ve found it, you question if you can trust it. Fortunately, in this season of my life I’ve found myself in the middle of a select few women I can truly be myself with. With these ladies, I can be open about my hopes (although, there’s still dreams in my heart that will remain). Yet, this small group came to me after dealing with past trust issues, often holding myself back so others could rise because in my mind, maybe it was meant for them and not for me? After all, I had reason to have these thoughts due to the countless times I let words bruise me in the past.
Words like: You’re the most selfish person…You’ll never have a ministry because you didn’t grow up in it… I wish you hadn’t moved here… The first time I saw you I just knew you would be a snob… I know you have this dream but you haven’t worked hard enough yet… I’ll never read your blog; I’ll never remember the name of it.
I know that I can be a selfish person and I know that I still have a lot to learn about ministry and the Bible. I’m also aware that hurtful words have been heard exiting my own mouth, but I believe the Word of God. I recognize what God breathed into Paul in the book of Philippians when he said, “Being confident of this, He who began a good work in you will finish it to completion.” I believe the promises in Joel 2 that He will restore what the locusts have destroyed! I’m confident in the vision God gave me in 2012, and He will finish the work—despite the sticks and stones, despite the pests, and despite myself.
Those words from women did hurt when they entered my ears. They bruised my heart and put a scratch on the record in my mind. You know, the record that plays things over and over. But bruises and scratches heal and I’m so thankful God allowed the healing process to make me secure and sensitive to the hopes and dreams of others. These last several years have come with lots of change. They’ve also come with lots of down time. Time I’ve chosen to treasure, not waste. I can see now how God is using all of those still moments to instill His love, grace, and forgiveness in me. To give me purpose in the pause, if you will.
Reflect with me for a moment on Mary’s visit to see her cousin Elizabeth. In the book of Luke 1:39-45, Mary and Elizabeth, both find themselves pregnant, with babies yes, but also pregnant with purpose. When Mary enters the house, Elizabeth’s baby (we come to know him as John the Baptizer) leaps in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the part I love: then Elizabeth says excitedly, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed!”
She doesn’t question Mary’s calling. She doesn’t exclaim, “why her and not me?” She doesn’t complain or compare. Instead, she was happy to be in the game. She puts on her rally cap and blesses her. Elizabeth was for Mary! Then she continues to bless her in verse 45 stating, “Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!” She allowed Mary’s bravery to inspire her, not detour her.
You may be saying, “of course, she could bless her, she was filled with the Holy Spirit.” But if I may counter back… if you have received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior then you too have the Holy Spirit filling you, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
I mentioned early that Elizabeth put on her “rally cap.” A rally cap, if you’re unaware, is a baseball cap worn inside-out and backwards by players and/or fans to will a team to a come-from-behind victory late in a game. Now, Mary wasn’t necessarily in a losing state, but she wasn’t who everyone on this side of heaven would have chosen to bring the King of Kings into the world. She wasn’t the wealthy woman carrying the Louis Vuitton purse and driving the nicest camel. She didn’t have the blue check-mark verifying her as a celebrity on Instagram and she had never gone viral on any social media platform. She wasn’t the most popular. She wasn’t the woman who had a master’s degree in business, leading the large organization. She was a teenager. That being the case, Elizabeth knew that her cousin and friend would need support and prayer to carry out this huge calling. She was ready to cheer her on!
My hope is this: that we as women will put on our rally caps for each other. To cheer each other on, believing in the callings, dreams, and visions that God places on a sister’s life. Pray over them, speak uplifting and powerful words into them. Spurring one another on toward the goal!
Let us link arm-in-arm and trust the proclamation of Psalms 1:1-3.
How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Stop dwelling on the words of mockers and instead delight in the Lord! Girls, know that the time spent in His company WILL bear its fruit in its season. Not all fruit flourishes in the same season. Your time is coming, but for now cheer on the one who is in season now.
Rally up!