GLN | Grit & Glory by Angie Campbell
Angie Campbell, Breathe Collective founder, The C3 Church, Director of GLN UKI
One of the most precious things that I own is a necklace that I wear often. It is not necessarily the chain, although that does have a memory attached to it, but the pearl that hangs from the gold chain that I am particularly fond of.
The pearl was bought for me for my birthday by some members of my family. My then 4-year-old grandson had a specific part to play, he was the one who chose the oyster, which produced said pearl. The pearl reminds me of the love that is connected to the gift. The wonder of a small child seeing what is inside and being willing to give that gift away. The pearl itself had gone through a process. A small amount of grit had entered the oyster, which must have been a real irritant. Rather than expelling the irritant, the oyster embraced it and over the years turned the grit into a thing of real beauty.
We can all testify to a time when we are facing or dealing with grit in our lives. The difficult decisions, the losses, the heartaches, the betrayals, and the abrupt change in plans. We were never promised that life would be easy, but we were promised that through the grit in our lives we would be changed, and we would become stronger as we sought to glorify God in it all (James 1:2-3).
Jesus had his own gritty journey here in the earth. As was prophesied by Isaiah many years previously, his attitude was one of faith. Isaiah 50 :7“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”
Those who succeed in life are those who have a certain amount of grit about their character who know how to persevere in times of trouble and who do not give into fear.
As women in leadership, the Women Leaders Network (WLN) gather in cohorts listening and reflecting on leadership talks, encouraging and strengthening one another as we commit to adding another layer of pearl (beauty from grit) in our lives – all so that He might be glorified.
Come be a part of the WLN - an initiative of the GLN and a global movement of local cohorts that aims to identify, empower, equip and release women in leadership. We desire to see women leading well with and alongside men, and fully use their God given leadership gifts for His purposes. Our vision is to see a unified global network of women leaders bringing transformational impact to their churches and local communities.