Читать книгу Death by Minivan - Heather Anderson Renshaw - Страница 8

Foreword

Heather Renshaw and I share a love for cold Long Island iced teas and bad karaoke. As a matter of fact, it’s how we met in the summer of 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. We were both attending the Edel Gathering hosted by the phenomenal Jennifer Fulwiler and Hallie Lord, and a karaoke dance party with two hundred of our closest girlfriends was the highlight of the event. Two things you need to know: I was a high school choir dropout, and one of Heather’s love languages is musical theater.

I sang “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor and sounded like a drowned cat. Heather took the stage and belted out, in perfect pitch mind you, “RESPECT” by Aretha Franklin. She took us to church, and it was glorious. It takes quite a bit of chutzpah to get two hundred women to sing along, but Heather, she’s got chutzpah in spades. She is sassy, funny, a tad snarky, but full of the Holy Spirit. We became immediate friends, and my life has been forever changed in the very best of ways.

Over the last three years we have walked through many challenges together, as God has stretched our faith and grown our friendship. Heather’s encouraging words always land gently, even when they reveal a hidden truth about something that may need rooting out or changing. We’re both passionate about women’s ministry and lifting up those who feel marginalized and unseen.

When Heather enters your world, it gets brighter, funnier, and more exciting. Your heart is filled with the sure confidence and peace that you will not be abandoned on the side of the road. Heather is your roadside assistance plan, and she is darn good at it. She sees your heart and speaks with truth and grace. She encourages and uplifts while walking alongside you, holding you up when you cannot stand on your own. She is a woman of God on a mission to make sure you know that as woman, wife, sister, and mother, you are seen, known, and loved by a God who has drawn a very unique and special road map just for you to follow.

Heather is one heck of a travel buddy. Imagine those minivan windows rolled down, wind whipping your hair, hands in the air, while the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff accompany you down the highway of life.

Death by Minivan is a celebration of motherhood with all its twists and turns along those mountain roads you are terrified to navigate. Using the fruits of the Holy Spirit as a guide to celebrate seeing motherhood as God’s carefully considered gift to us for our sanctification, Heather shares the truth of God’s economy of embracing our cross to be free, dying to live, giving to receive.

Some of us love the ups and downs of hills and valleys, some prefer the winding mountain road, and others the straight and narrow surrounded by wheat fields as far as the eye can see. No matter your landscape preference, no matter your past driving record or how many speeding tickets or fender benders you have been involved in, every woman’s road map is unique to her and the passengers whom God has created to fill her minivan along the way.

This book you are holding is filled with inspiration and encouragement as Heather shares her heart, freely and fully, so that you might not feel alone on your own journey. Her experience is vast and varied. Her love for Christ, her husband, and their five blessings resonates throughout each page. They are her true north, her guiding lights. The stories shared within just might inspire you to step outside your comfort zone and trust a little more in the plan God has for you and your family.

No one travels the same road in the same way. There will be roadblocks—and many of them. But don’t be afraid of them or the occasional flat tire from the construction debris on the side of the road. Trust in the GPS that the Holy Spirit provides and listen closely for the sirens of the emergency vehicles that will arrive just in time to save the day.

Dig in, friends, and savor this book. Celebrate the sacrificial yet fruitful call to love and allow it to change your perspective on motherhood. Now crank up the radio, and let’s get this road trip started. Life is a highway, and all roads lead to heaven.

Mary Lenaburg

author, writer, and speaker www.marylenaburg.com