Melanie is attending Allume Conference next week. Jesse, Sarah Mae’s husband, hacked her blog with a challenge to all husbands of women attending. Write on her post on how the blogging community and/or the Allume conference has impacted your wife for good. (This is Melanie, hacking the hack to include a link to it here)
Oh, and if my hacking gets picked, I win an IPad.
Here we go:
Melanie has a beautiful, beautiful voice, but, up till now, not many people have known it. Blogging for her has been an unveiling, an unfolding of the kind of grace that our Father sustains her with. The things she sees and experiences are so different than what most do and often she has believed that everyone else sees those things already, why share? Or if it is so different than how others see, why share? In our marriage I have watched her come to realize that her perspective is unique. I’ve probably helped with that by being so dull to the things she’s sensitive to. 🙂 But as she has grown in her belief and understanding that she sees the invisible in a unique way she has grown in her confidence to share that. It’s exciting to see the initiative and shepherding care for her readers that has grown as she has come to believe that her voice is vital, life-giving and affirming to countless others.
The main thing I hope people notice about Melanie’s writing is how it fuses courage and love in such delicate ways. Melanie’s life experience have taught her how strong she is. Because she has not wasted her pain, but rather triumphed over it, she is able to speak a powerful word of encouragement to others in similar situations. But most importantly I think you feel her tenderness towards her readers. One of her readers told me the other day, simply, that when she writes, “I feel like I’m there.” She has an ability to bring people right into what she is experiencing in an unvarnished way. This act of love touches people deeply and brings them joy, hope, and encouragement. This is what Love is for, and I count it a privilege to be married to such a wonderful lover. I commend to you all her writing and her God under Whose wings she lives.
Beautiful!
Thank you Anne!
Rob,
This is a beautiful piece about your wonderful wife. It is so sweet to know that you see her writing the same way those of us who read Mel’s blog see her.
It is so true that each of us sees the world from a unique perspective, and sharing that is important.
Thanks, Rob!
🙂
Beth- you are always so encouraging! thank you.
Oh, this is so lovely! What a sweet tribute to a woman that I want to meet!!!
Thank you Becky! Can’t wait, only a few more days. So grateful for you staring the ministry wives group!
Rob, thank you for your comments…..I have always thought you were a great writer, but now I must confess that Melanie excels in her ability to help me see things in a way I never thought of before….You are both truly a blessing in so many peoples lives…..God Bless
Rob writes in a deep, for a theological journal kind of way! Thank you Sue 🙂
I love this Rob and Melanie and love you both too. Also, do you know Sarah Mae and Jesse?
Thank you Cathy!
I haven’t met them. I just discovered Sarah’s blog and Allume this summer. And am going to the conference this week.
But about a month ago was reading her blog and the thought came to me, I wonder if she knows the Bowmans? There were some things in her language, values, etc that made me think that (and I knew she lived in PA).
Then Rob reminded me of the last time we saw you that Dave told us a former Nav student had published some Core Lies materials. Rob pulled up the writing you gave us, and sure enough the author was Sarah Mae! Then i looked more deeply at her blog and made the connection.
So fun to have worlds collide 🙂 That happens a lot with Nav alum it seems!
Hopefully I’ll have a chance to meet her the end of this week!