I want to take a minute to invite you into a sacred space. Into the vulnerable areas of my heart.
If you are a woman in the ministry you know firsthand, as do I, how isolating life in the ministry can sometimes be. You are trying to be an example to everyone around you and day-to-day life does not stop when you are going through hard things. Sometimes you feel like a “faith failure” because you are finding it hard to breathe under the weight of a challenging season. The truth is hard things come to everyone, but we know that we can overcome them all through Christ Jesus. One of my favorite pastors says “It’s the natural and the supernatural coming together that make an explosive force for God!” God never meant for us to compartmentalize our lives. Our faith and mental health go hand-in-hand. God made us unique from all other creations with emotions to be processed with Him and by faith. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for the people you serve is to invest in yourself and in your mental, emotional, and physical health.
To be completely transparent, a few years ago, my husband Chad, a bi-vocational minister; who served faithfully for more than 20 years as a youth pastor, worship pastor, and associate pastor, while also serving our community as a non-profit businessman, as well as being a husband and father, went through a mid-life crisis. The enemy wore him down causing him to question every area of his life, but the biggest blow for me was that he even questioned us. He had become so discouraged that he wasn’t sure he wanted to be married, much less in ministry.
We found an excellent marriage therapist and began the arduous journey of untangling the lies of the enemy and rebuilding our foundation that began and remains rooted in God’s love and His Word. Praise God for His restorative power!
But when we are in crisis-mode life does not stop. When someone you love is dealing with incapacity, whether it is physical or mental, life as you knew it ceases to exist, and while I was doing my best to process it all, the stress took a toll on me mentally and physically. As a minister, I’ve taught much on how to renew our minds according to the Word, but I needed a better understanding of the natural side, of how God created our brains to work, and how to process my God-given emotions in a healthy way. So, in addition to couples therapy, I hired a Christian Life Coach, just for me, and, aside from Bible college, it is the best investment I’ve made in myself! The impact on my well-being was so profound that last year I became certified as a Christian Life Coach. As an arm of my ministry, it allows me to provide 1:1 support to women, combining the wisdom of God’s Word (supernatural) with cutting-edge neuroscience (natural) and equipping them with the tools of emotional resilience to experience peace and joy no matter what circumstances they find themselves in. If you, or a woman you know want help to manage stress/overwhelm, and to fully enjoy every relationship, with yourself, your marriage, your children, your ministry, or your calling, please reach out.
The first step to freedom is asking for help. Hit the Coach with Me link and let’s set up a time to chat! I’m so excited for you to go on this journey to true FREEDOM & JOY in every area of your life! Because while you may DO many things YOU are MORE valuable than ANYTHING you could ever DO for God! ~Be Blessed, Jenny
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~JENNY RIEFLIN MINISTRIES~ 