Darlene Partin

I have a guest blogger today. Monica Blowes is the wife of our favorite associate pastor at Shoreline Church! She and Sam have 2 precious children, Will and Amy. I love what Monica has to share about helping out. Enjoy…

Helping Out

So I’ve come to a realization recently. Beginning to understand my role as a wife. Finally, right? I never truly understood what it meant and was actually a little offended by being described as a “helper.” In Genesis 2:18 where it says~~ The Lord God said, “it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” I just didn’t get it. It made me seem like a lesser human to be described as simply a helper. Can’t I have goals and dreams of my own? Why do I have to help him? Why isn’t he helping me? Oh, the selfishness that goes on in my head.

Anyways…what I’ve come to realize is that by being Sam’s helper, in making sure he has what he needs and that he’s taken care of, I’m making things easier for him. When things are easier for him, the less stressed he is, the less work he has to do and the more time he can spend with the family. By volunteering for jobs that he would have to do, I’m making things less complicated for him. Seriously…the guy doesn’t have a thorough understanding of cooking and recently I’ve needed to HELP him with stuff at church that involved several things that I’m passionate about. Why not join in on the fun with him and help him out. I’m not a lesser person because of it. I’m a more loving person because of it.

I’ve amped up my responsibilities by quite a bit in the past couple months and honestly, I like the work. I enjoy making phone calls for him. I enjoy emailing back and forth with brides about wedding vows and reception plans. I enjoy handling props for church on Sunday. I enjoy doing a little computer work (restricted by my serious lack of knowledge on how he does what he does) and am interested in doing more.

I’m not just a housewife/cleaning lady/chef. I’m a HELPER and I’m proud of it! I’m helping the best man I could ever possibly help to do the best job he has ever had. By helping Sam, I’ve discovered more about myself and have gotten rid of the terrible resentment that accrues in my mind when he’s working long hours. Because now, I know what is going on and how much work it actually takes. I’m a part of it.

Monica

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This weekend, Joe Johnson married Kassy, the love of his life. Joe came to Destin from East Coast Christian Center, in Merritt Island, to help us plant Shoreline Church. So many of our friends came up from Central Florida to celebrate with Joe and Kassy. We spent time talking of “remember whens” and enjoying every minute together like it was old times.

My best bud from our previous church, Suzanne Ellis, stayed with us and we attended the wedding together. We laughed, stayed up late hours, ate great food, and talked about our children and the future. We got the opportunity to take her and Tony and Debbie Demarzo out to Crab Island, to eat at Dewey Destin, and then for a cruise through Cinco Bayou. It was fun to show them where Eric and I grew up and to proudly expose them to our little piece of paradise.

What a great pleasure it was to worship with my family at Shoreline Church, along with some members of my family at East Coast Christian Center (ECCC). Pastor Chris Johnson from ECCC led worship at Shoreline and God showed up big. Chris was just a young teen when he got involved in our youth ministry and it was rewarding to see the incredible man he has become and to see him walk in the incredible giftings God has placed in his life. I can’t even express the gratitude I have towards God and my ECCC family for their support for Shoreline Church. Just their presence in our service yesterday reminded me of mine and Eric’s great heritage in ministry and made me thankful for the people God placed in our lives during our time at ECCC.

Thank you, my East Coast Christian Center family, for coming to visit. I can’t wait to see you all again!

Darlene

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