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We love them first and we love them enough
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that we want to share
the Gospel with them.
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My name's Sarah and this is my story.
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I think that being a
mother has probably shaped
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nearly all of my ministry
of reconciliation.
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I think as mothers, on the whole,
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we are better at experiencing
one another's downs
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as well as our ups.
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And one of the ways in which I
think we can share the Gospel
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with others is through those down times.
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And the time of greatest
transformation in my life
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was as an adult having just turned 40,
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and I had a complete crash,
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what many people would call a
breakdown, working too hard.
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Fell on my face really,
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and I was a mum with children at the time
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and a loving husband and a
wonderful community around me.
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So no reason really for that to happen
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other than, I think, what God
taught me through that time,
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and that was to be
utterly dependent on Him
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from a place of deep vulnerability.
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One of the exciting things
about being a Christian mum
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is that other people quite quickly know
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that you're a Christian mum,
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and even if you don't ever
mention the word "Jesus"
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people are watching you.
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If they see a family that is struggling
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with all the normal
things and they still know
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that you love Jesus and that
he is evident in your life,
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that is probably the best form of ministry
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that we have as mothers.
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I am the advisor to
Archbishop Justin Welby,
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the Archbishop of Canterbury,
on peace and reconciliation.
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We have launched a programme
called 'Women on the Frontline'
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looking at the fact
that women are the first
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to spot rising tension.
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They are the first usually
to diffuse that tension,
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and they are usually the
ones who are looking after
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the victims of conflict at every level.
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Our ministry needn't
always be a public voice.
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I think it's wonderful when
we have that public platform,
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but we also have a ministry in our homes
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and in our communities.
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It's the most extraordinary privilege
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to work with women who love Jesus
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and when they worship they come alive,
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a deep and personal
relationship with Jesus
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that's the driving force
for them and their work.
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For example, Alice is someone
who has spent her life
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in one small community
ministering to those
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in that community who are marginalised.
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And she's done that in such
a quiet and unnoticed way,
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but she has faith like a mountain.
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She is riding, if you like,
on the top of this mountain
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that is Jesus, her friend and her Saviour.
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Of course those who come into her home
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experience some of the
peace that she feels
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through her relationship with Jesus.
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Jesus is our ultimate
reconciler in terms of examples.
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God is the reconciler.
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So all the work that we do
is dependent on the fact that
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God has reconciled us to Himself.
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When I look to Jesus, he
spent most of his time
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engaging with people
outside his own tradition,
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and he spoke across
boundaries all the time,
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and he did that in risky places
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where he would be condemned
by his own people.
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And I sometimes wonder,
as Christians ourselves,
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are we taking enough risks?
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Do we go into places knowing that Jesus
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has been there before us?