An Invitation to Abide in the Shelter of the Good Shepherd

Kristen Welch and I are sorta, kinda, really soul sisters… As I served on the board of directors of the ministry Kristen founded, Mercy House Global, and we serve together to dream up for you the best #FAIRTRADE beauty of The Grace Case and the Grace Flame Candle subscription that supports local refugees while funding the Kenyan maternity homes of Mercy House — so I get to see it first hand again and again, what we can all do together to change the world for women, if we say our brave yes. I absolutely love this woman with all my heart — it’s a grace to welcome my soul sister, Kristen, to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Kristen Welch 

The group leader pushed the box of tissues on the table in front of me indicating it was my turn in the circle.

She waited for me to begin, but I paused too long as I struggled for the words to describe how life had brought me to this unexpected moment. I took a deep breath and with shaking hands, twisting a tattered Kleenex, in a quivering voice, I shared a brief version of my story. 

My own words sounded like a foreign language, strange to my ears as I spoke them. Mid-sentence, I shuddered from the shock of them.

I was heartbroken.

A single tear slid down my cheek and the dam behind it threatened to break.

I have been sitting at tables with marginalized women for the past 15 years as the founder and CEO of Mercy House Global, a nonprofit ministry that empowers vulnerable families with opportunities that create hope in Jesus’ name, but this was the first time I showed up as one. 

I wasn’t sitting in the circle to empower the vulnerable with my strategic ideas or offer life-giving programs that the non-profit I work for provides; I was there to share my own grief and receive comfort.

“There is something holy about our pain in our most tender moments that is also wildly humbly.“

There is something holy about our pain in our most tender moments that is also wildly humbly.

In a blink of an eye, any of our lives can change overnight and we might find that we need sanctuary, too.

When we open the door to our sorrow, we see Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd, who tenderly and lovingly cares for us. Jesus isn’t hard to find, He is always near, but if you’re looking for Him, start with the vulnerable. Jesus is always among those in the margins.

He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one.

The group leader spoke gently to the circle and drew from her own experience, “It might not feel like it today, but you are actually being rescued. One day you’ll look back and see that this is a rescue.”

I immediately thought of the work of Mercy House Global and how God has provided for 83 rescues of pregnant teen girls in Kenya and their precious miracle babies, how against all odds, they have been delivered from traffickers, oppression and dangerous situations and safely brought into homes filled with love. They have been invited into a sisterhood of second chances, a place to share their grief, heal from their trauma and be introduced to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

While my rescue has been nothing daring or harrowing like theirs and cannot be compared in any way, we do share the same loving Savior.

“It’s possible to taste and see that the Lord is good in the valley of the shadow of death.“

My own personal experience has opened a door into the presence of God that I’ve never quite known before.

It’s possible to taste and see that the Lord is good in the valley of the shadow of death. I will never show up to a table to empower vulnerable women again in the same way. 

Jesus said in Luke 15 “And when he has found the lost sheep, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders…saying “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” The Shepherd sees each of His sheep as priceless. You are priceless. I am priceless. 

She is priceless.

Jesus invites each of us to abide in the safety of His shelter. He doesn’t reserve it only for the marginalized. He invites each of us and wants us to remember that without Him we are vulnerable.  

Abiding is related to the word abode which means the place someone lives. When we abide in God, we are connecting ourselves to Him.

To abide in Christ is to step into the safe house that is God.

Abiding in Jesus, our Good Shepherd, offers us safety, peace, trust and provision for life.

“Jesus invites each of us to abide in the safety of His shelter… He invites each of us and wants us to remember that without Him we are vulnerable. “

Mercy House Global is creating loving environments for vulnerable women to abide from the harshness of life. We offer shelter from the brutal realities of oppression, sanctuary from life’s storms, encouragement to the hopeless, opportunities to the vulnerable, and access to a God who speaks this truth over each one:

You are priceless.

Every year, the Tuesday after Mother’s Day, Mercy House Global hosts a giving day called She Is Priceless. Any way you look at it, providing shelter for the vulnerable isn’t cheap in today’s economy. The only way the empowerment programs at Mercy House Global continue is through the generosity of those who are abiding in God’s shelter.

He connects us all. He asks us to share our resources and reminds us that without Him, we would have nothing.

She Is Priceless is the day we pause and remember that women are the most oppressed people group in the world and proclaim that every woman, everywhere is priceless. 

Jesus shepherds and shelters us all.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like if every girl and every woman knew she was unconditionally loved, valued, and worthy? It is our WHY. It’s the reason we exist. It’s the reason we keep fighting for the vulnerable.

Today is She is Priceless Global Giving Day—would you consider how you can partner with us to support the work of Mercy House Global and remind every woman around the world that She is Priceless? We LOVE and trust and support the work of Mercy House Global and would LOVE if you join us in supporting and loving these vulnerable women around the world.

Mercy House Global exists to engage, empower and disciple women around the globe in Jesus’ name. We fund two residential maternity homes and a transition home in Kenya for pregnant teens.  Mercy House Global also supports over 40+ faith-based nonprofits in 30+ countries by helping these organizations sell products that employ women artisans through four subscription clubs.

Would you give your best gift today to help Mercy House Global meet urgent needs?