Women of Reverence welcomes guest blogger Kay Ramaabya.
She is married to Simon. They’re blessed with a daughter
Naomi. Kay is an active Manager running a multi branch business while in
ministry with her husband leading CFAN church based in Gaborone,
Botswana.
I never thought, on any day in my life, I would become a leader in any capacity but God called and led me into leadership. I have been part of Church for All Nations aka CFAN for years and served in many forms of leadership. There are many lessons learned during the journey and it has truly been a worthwhile experience.
The journey started when my husband, Simon, took a trip to Rustenburg to take a breather and buy
some things. On his way, he narrates his conversation with Jesus, like that of Paul in Acts 9 v 3 – 8: the Damascus experience. He (Simon) came to me and said, ‘’I said ‘Yes’ to the Lord – whatever He says we must do as I said ‘Yes’…’’ and I was thinking, what has gotten into you? “Yes” to what? Before this, we had just become new parents to Naomi (almost a year old) and Simon had left his corporate job to venture independently, also running a multi-branch business. There was so much happening in our lives that I couldn’t fit something or another task onto our plate but God had a good plan for us. I had to adjust, submit, surrender, lay down and learn again. Here are some of the things I learned:
1. Follower of God’s will – John 15 v 1-6
We’re all born called for a purpose beyond our understanding – God’s will. When you personally
get to that understanding, your own plans for today, tomorrow and your future fall out. When
He asks BIG things, it’s not difficult, unlike when you don’t have that understanding.
The day we were asked to lead CFAN was a terrifying day for me – I wasn’t trained nor had I sat
down to learn from church leaders. I didn’t have a “How To” booklet. I couldn’t figure out what
prayer to pray. All I remember was I never imagined leading a church of all things – all of a
sudden I felt I was required to be “holier than thou” and live my life in a certain man-approved
way. It took a while to gather my thoughts, mind, feelings, sight – you name it – to get back to
the Lord. I figured the only person to clarify the matter was God – so I started with Him and the
assurance God gave me from His word was amazing. He reminded me of the scriptures I recited
the first day I got born again and the promises I made to follow His will because I had to know
His will again. Who knew I was born for such a time as this?
2. Focus – John 4 v 34
Focus is a central point of attraction, attention, priority or activity. Knowing your focus in life is
an important goal that each one has to attain. If you don’t know what your focus is, you will
follow and fulfill wrong things. Focus makes you know what you stand for, what you believe,
whom you believe, where your attention and direct aim are, and trains you to stand strong
when things don’t make sense. Before leading CFAN, I was led. I didn’t need to focus on the
bigger picture as such; all I needed was know was my area of leading or influence and fulfill it.
When given a task, I had the privilege to ask questions and get responses there and then. NOW
I am the leader; my focus changes from short to long-term. I need to see what God says, pay
attention to what He does, prioritize and be active.
I remember the first weeks my mind was literally empty. I seemed not to know what to do;
there were many things to be done but I was still on the “how” stage. I had to remind myself
why I said yes – my issue was I had lost focus of the vision and mission. In leadership, we need
to concentrate our focus on the main things, avoiding distractions that are unrelated to the
vision or mission of our calls. I remember one time, some people were talking to me about
changing my wardrobe, changing my car and upgrading my lifestyle and I was thinking I was fine
– what was the problem with my lifestyle? If God wanted me to upgrade, He would have said so.
What do these things matter when they don’t serve any purpose to further the vision and
mission Jesus has laid out for us? I had to remind myself to continue on the path.
3. Trust – Proverbs 3 v 5-6
Trust is the ability to believe that someone is good, reliable, effective and honest and will not
harm you. Leadership requires us to trust without reservation and the first person to trust is the
Lord. The following weeks of leading the church, I thought God’s plan was just to ruin my life –
adjusting to motherhood, business growth demanding more time and learning to lead in the
new space we were in church-wise. My prayer times were sitting and saying nothing to the Lord
for I felt what I said didn’t matter – God also didn’t say anything but what I appreciate is He
never left me. When my prayer time ended, I would have this sense of ease that made me
settle.
I had to learn to trust the Lord
I realized I had an incorrect understanding of the will and call of God over my life. I felt,
at that time, He ruined what was working and I didn’t know how to navigate finding
myself in Him because of my understanding.
I had to learn to trust people
As leaders, we give people tasks sometimes with our trust windows and curtains open
to see how and when they do it.
Look at everyone with FRESH eyes – a reminder of how God’s mercies are new every
morning.
Love
Kay