Just Do One Thing
Help bring gospel-hope to moms all over the world.
This week is R|M's Fall Fundraiser. We're over half way to reaching our goal of raising $50,000 to bring gospel-hope to moms all over the world.
A $25 gift allows us reach 15 moms for one year with the gospel.
Partner with us by giving now.
We want to have all the things. We want to do all the things. We want our children to be involved in all the things. But in our obsession with “all the things,” we sometimes miss the power of one thing.
We recently received an email from a husband named Chris, telling us how the Lord has used Risen Motherhood in his wife’s life to not only change her, but to impact many around her, including him. What’s interesting about their story is that although the Lord has done many great things through Chris’s wife, Noelle, it all started with one thing—listening to an episode of the Risen Motherhood podcast.
Noelle was a new mom struggling with all the things. In her exhaustion and desperation, she says she decided to listen to an episode, hoping to find something to “check the box for devotion time” or even just “a practical how-to guide for dealing with some of the difficulties of life as a new mom.” What she found was different, but much better—“hope for the season [she] was in” and “the truth of the gospel.”
So after that episode, she listened to another one, and another one—in fact, she listened to ten episodes in that first week! And as she listened, the truth of the gospel took root in her heart. The Lord began to change her. Reflecting on that time, Noelle praises the Lord that “he used the podcast to graciously draw me back to himself rather than simply giving me the quick fix for the new challenges I was facing. He knew that what I needed was a heart transformation.”
Chris believes God brought the R|M podcast into Noelle’s life “at just the right time and it deeply changed her life.” But the Lord didn’t just change Noelle, he began to work through her to impact others. Chris says he “watched her grow into a confident, godly mother that now helps equip other women with the truth of who they are in Christ.”
As Chris watched her grow into this role, God used that to change his heart. Looking back to when their daughter was born, Chris writes, “I was struggling spiritually and didn’t see value in having my wife stay at home to raise our daughter.” But he now says the Lord has helped him see “that this is where God has called Noelle for now” and Chris “can rest in God’s provision.” And that has allowed Chris “to value, celebrate, and encourage Noelle in ways that [he] couldn’t have done previously.”
All of the things the Lord has done in Chris’ heart, in Noelle’s heart, and in the hearts of women Noelle has ministered to, began with just one thing. But this isn’t just how God has worked in their lives, we see this truth in scripture.
In Luke 10, we read the story of Martha and Mary hosting Jesus in their home. When Martha complains to Jesus about Mary sitting “at the Lord’s feet and listen[ing] to his teaching” instead of helping her, Jesus answers: “you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:41–42, emphasis mine).
We’re so often overwhelmed by all the things—the things on our to-do list, the things we think others expect of us or we expect of ourselves, the things we desire to have and to be—that we miss the value of one thing.
Jesus said, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33, emphasis mine).
When we seek Jesus and his kingdom first, we begin to see all things in our lives differently, because we see them in light of the gospel, just like Noelle and Chris. And their story helps us see that seeking the Lord isn’t limited to Sundays and formal acts of worship. We can seek the Lord in the practical, everyday decisions, like listening to a podcast that shares the gospel.
One thing we’d like to invite you to do today is give to Risen Motherhood. Our ministry is primarily funded by the generous donations of our listeners, readers, and supporters, and we’re in the midst of our fall fundraiser. Our goal is to raise $50,000, and a group of generous supporters has already given $30,000. We need your help to raise the remaining $20,000!
When you see our goal, you might think that your one donation wouldn’t matter. But one donation—added to another donation, added to another—is exactly what we need! In the hands of our powerful God, your contribution can help us meet our goal, and yield incredible fruit in the lives of our listeners and readers like Noelle.
As Noelle listened to one R|M podcast, the Lord began to work, and before long, lives all around her were impacted. While Noelle and Chris only represent one family, we know there are many stories of lives impacted by the Lord’s work through Risen Motherhood. Please join us by clicking the button to give. It’s one thing you can do today to help someone else encounter the One who is better than all the things we seek.
