I just learned the sermon is not online like it was just a couple of days ago! I’m going to do my best to get a copy of it and will update soon!

Three years ago I began looking for work in ministry after over two years off. I had been working on a writing and speaking career, had begun work with Trades of Hope as a “compassionate entrepreneur,” when it became clear that my family needed a steady income outside of my hustle. I began applying for work as a pastor and in ministry positions here in MN.

I never thought I would openly share what it is like to be a woman in ministry – especially not in a church. But after years of heart ache, Tim and I began attending a church close to our home which is 100% affirming of women in ministry. So affirming of women, I sat stunned, with tears in my eyes as I listened to messages on the femininity of God. The feminine side I had always seen in Scripture, but had never heard described from the pulpit. I finally felt safe.

When our pastor asked me to speak on December 29, 2019 and asked me to share my story, I agreed, having shared my story of depression, postpartum depression and other levels of mental illness at other times. But I heard God whisper that word he has given me over and over again this past year: Wilderness.

I shared my wilderness story. It is a story of loss, of heartache, of pain, of more loss. And right now, as I see my friends and family lose their jobs, lose their businesses, lose their loved ones, I wonder if maybe my story can console you. If my message can come alongside you. And if I “can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort [I myself] receive from God,” then I will have felt I have lived into my calling. (see 2 Corinthians 2:4)

If you want to listen, please do so. It is available on our church’s website here or on iTunes or whichever podcast you listen to. Just search Leah Everson and Mills Church.

I was absent on my blog and on social media for so long due to my wilderness. I am still in it. I am finally finding my way through it. Hope is not lost. We are in this together.