Relevant Gifts

When I visited England with my daughter several years ago, I found this version of a Russian nesting doll in a gift shop at York Minster:

The outside doll represents King Henry VIII, and nestled inside are dolls representing each of his wives in the order they were dispatched: Divorced, beheaded died; divorced, beheaded, survived. I thought I desperately needed one of these quirky dolls until I flipped one over, saw the price tag, and calculated the conversion from British pounds to American dollars. I decided I’d be satisfied with just a picture.

Attending The Relevant Conference was, for me, like receiving the gift of a nesting doll. I didn’t receive a single gift at the conference; I received many, layered within one another. The outer shell, the gift holding all the others inside, was the extravagant one my husband gave me. In paying my registration fee, picking up my expenses, and agreeing to sacrifice the presence of my delightful company for several days, the beloved Swede encouraged me to continue writing and telling my stories. He is a good man, and so much better than I deserve. And as all the ladies at Relevant who saw pictures will attest, he is one good looking Swede.

The next layer, the gift I was most anxious to open, was that of meeting friends I’ve known only through online words and pictures. Hugging Bonnie, our gracious hostess here at the Faith Jam, was a highlight of the conference as was meeting Michelle and Deidra. I met Mary, a new friend in real life, and am now looking forward to getting to know her through her words and pictures online.

We shared stories, laughter, and tears together as friends; we prayed with and for one another. I listened to others, those who have lived stories similar to mine, and I heard their encouraging messages, “Yes it is hard, but God is faithful. All will be well.” I sat with these women and shared meals; we joined our voices together in singing praise. And I know we will do this together again someday.

Layered deeper inside the conference I found the gift of challenging, thoughtful words from so many. Like so many others, I’d come to the conference eager to hear from Ann Voskamp, she whose life-giving words I’d found during dark days in my life. As humble and gracious in real life as she appears in her writing, Ann eschews the very notion of fame. Yet in response to God’s call to sacrifice the quiet anonymity of Canadian farm life, she offers to Him her words for the feeding of many. Blogging, she reminds a room full of women, is not about us, but about “washing the feet of your sisters.”

Singer and songwriter Shaun Groves, who organizes trips for bloggers on behalf of Compassion International, spoke about the power of words to keep God’s mercy in view, even amidst the reality of devastating poverty. Shelly Noonan, in telling her story of walking through pain, reminded us that “even our pain doesn’t belong to us,” but can be offered for the healing of others. Laura Booz encouraged us to believe, “You become passionate about Jesus when you understand His passion for you.” Tsh Oxenreider spoke about “finding our sweet spots,” the intersection between our skills and our passion.She also showed us some pretty happening tools for navigating the world of Twitter.

I unearthed layer after layer of gift during my weekend among fellow bloggers at the Relevant Conference and also received a hefty gift bag filled with books and other treasures. I’m sure I received gifts I have yet to discover as I read back through my notes and chew on words I heard. I came home from the conference deeply convinced of the power of story. My stories matter, and so do yours. They are gifts we offer to one another.

Linking with Bonnie and high-fiving her on the news of her new book contract!

Also adding my link over at The Relevant Conference Blog.