Gaylon became a pastor in Beaufort/Port Royal, SC, in 1976. We were excited to go there, but I was so immature. Jesus was my Savior. I went to Southeastern University. Neither of those automatically made me mature in my walk with God. I had been told I was gifted, but as I look back, I have learned that gifted and mature are not the same thing.

I am about to tell you the truth! I had an older pastor’s wife that I talked with before Gaylon became a senior pastor. In a nutshell, her advice was do not wear slacks, do not wear makeup, do not cut your hair, and do not become friends with anyone in the church. My interpretation of that: be ugly and lonely and you can be a great pastor’s wife!

In Beaufort, God helped me to overcome much of my shyness, and I became a worship leader and a Bible teacher, but oh how raw I was in dealing with people. How raw I was in reflecting Christ. If you were in our church at that time, please forgive me! I was a scared, scarred, active woman, but so immature.

We saw a lot of numerical growth in the church and experienced an awesome worship atmosphere. People would linger around the altar after services just to stay in God’s presence. We were all so hungry for the presence of the living God.

Those were wonderful church days, but I was dissatisfied internally. I knew how to put programs together, lead worship, and teach the Bible. The success we experienced was wonderful, yet I knew something was missing in my life. Why the dissatisfaction amid a growing, thriving ministry?

During our ten years we spent in Beaufort, I started attending Women of the Word conferences in Ridgecrest, NC. I cannot even tell you how I discovered these conferences or who invited me to attend. It was a God thing.

I listened as other women speakers brought powerful messages that reflected an intimate, mature walk with God. What a breath of fresh air!!!!

Over time, I got to personally know some of those powerful speakers. I was blessed to spend time with some of them and to be mentored by them. Those women poured into my life. Additionally, I bought every recorded message and listened to them over and over. Those leaders, through God, changed my life.

Those powerful women of God were not easy on me. One of them said, “If I am going to mentor you, I will be tough on you, fair but tough.”  Today, I am so thankful they were not easy on me because growth is not always easy. Maturity in Christ is not for the faint of heart!

Decades of my time were spent allowing those women to speak into my life. Those women truly helped me to see that Jesus was calling me to a deeper, transforming walk, but that He would allow me to remain spiritually shallow if I so desired.

Listening to my mentors and watching their lives caused a hunger in my soul. I wanted more in my walk with God. I wanted to be deeper in Him. It is in the deep place that we see the power of God operating in our lives and that we get revelation of the One who resides within us.

What did I learn at Beaufort? In looking back, I see it matters not if you are gifted if you are not also godly. I was pitifully shallow spiritually. Your gifting can place you in positions of leadership, but it will take character will keep you there. Without character, over time, you will end up hurting much of the good you have done.

Too often in the Church, we think giftedness equals godliness.

I want to be a godly, gifted woman of God, who reflects God, and is about the work of the Kingdom. I want to be a mentor helping others to move along in their walk.

Jesus is calling us to move out into the deeper waters, waters that transform us more into His image. Dive in! The water is great!

“…Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7,8