Zebra Ministries: Letting Down My Hair

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Letting Down My Hair

Matthew 11:28 (ESV)
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Good morning Zebras,

I have always struggled with my hair. It is too straight to really be curly and too curly to be straight. It doesn’t seem to want to behave and I do not have the talent necessary to make it. My hair and I have lived in an uneasy truce for most of my life.

A few years ago, when I was preparing for my first retreat, I decided that I needed to change my appearance to mirror the inner transformation of God. God may look at the heart, but women look at clothes and hair. So I lost weight, bought new clothes and went to a really expensive place to have my hair cut.

At first it was fun, sort of. I was not raised with money and I find that people who have it can be very intimidating. But the lady who cut my hair was really talented, so talented that she goes to Europe and styles hair for the runway models, so I kept going.

But slowly it started to get stressful.

I was spending a ton of money on my hair and it wasn’t working anymore. Try as I might I could not make my hair behave. And I felt like a failure. I dreaded getting my hair cut, because I felt like I was letting it down.

I could no longer live up to my hair.

That’s when God said “Trust me.” Quit spending a fortune on your hair and trust me. Go to the nice lady that I told you about and trust that it will be okay. So I did. And you know what, my hair looks fine.

And then I realized that is how some people feel about God. They feel like they can’t live up to His standards. They feel like they are constantly letting Him down. Instead of living a life of joy, they are living a life of stress. And eventually they walk away. Who wants to be around someone they can never please?

But that is not the heart of God that is the heart of man.

God knows we will never live up to His perfection and He loves us. He does not want us feeling bad about ourselves and hiding from Him. He wants us to bring our broken lives and pathetic attempts at perfection to Him so that He can make us whole and perfect in Christ. He wants us to relax and learn who He is.

He wants to give us rest-not stress.

Love,

Jill

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Why Zebras?

In the summer of 2008 I was looking at a herd of zebras in a wild animal park and commented to my son that I didn’t understand why the lions didn’t just eat the zebras because their markings make them so obvious. He told me that the opposite was actually true. God has marked zebras so when they hang together in a herd, their stripes create the illusion they are one large animal and therefore too big to attack. It is the lone zebra that is usually eaten. The same is true of Christians; we must hang together and encourage each other to fight off the lions. The lone Christian is easy prey.

1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Therefore:

Zebras was started to encourage women who desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, who want their lives to be transformed to honor God and who are willing to be “zebras” in a world of “horses”. Zebras exists to reassure you that you are not alone and that God has called you to be peculiar. As a peculiar person you should look different than the world

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Pastor Endorsement

Jill Getchell speaks from her heart and from God’s word in a way that brings encouragement and hope to God’s people. I’ve been blessed to hear her at Awana conferences, a women’s retreat, and from the pulpit of our church. I am confident your people will be equally blessed by spending the day with Jill at We Have Hope...your church will be blessed as well.

Pastor Al Marks

First Baptist Church Vallejo

I have known Jill for many years now. She truly desires to encourage the churches in our community and to strengthen the believers that attend our churches. Her passion for Jesus comes out in her ability to speak, and her heart is to encourage all those that attend to go back into their churches and be a blessing.

Pastor Kelly Patchin

New Harbor Community Church, Benicia

I believe women are vital to the unity and health of the church. They bear the image of God and serve Him in a great way within His church. Zebras has the ability to unite and excite women to grow in their faith and in their relationships with each other. In John 17:20 Jesus says, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” One of Christ’s last prayers for His church is that they would be one as He is with the Father. And through our unity the world can come to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. Unity is essential for a healthy church and healthy relationships between women. Zebras can stimulate healthy growth in the spiritual lives of the women in your church too. It is a blessing at New Harbor and I believe it would be a blessing for any pastor to have in their church.

Kelly Patchin, Pastor
New Harbor Community Church

Testimonies

The Zebra herd has given me the opportunity to be myself. I think we all have a face we put on for others, especially on Sunday. We don’t want to let anyone see the pain or hurt we’re suffering because we feel that it’s a reflection on our walk with Christ. I now have a group of loving Christian women with whom to share the joys and sorrows equally… Without the Zebras, I’d still be wearing my Sunday face. ...............Dawn C.

The Zebra ministry has deepened my relationship with Christ and the women at my church beyond what I thought possible... Most importantly, it has given me a safe place to be very, very real… I have learned how to be transparent and allow my fellow Zebra sisters to support me in prayer and God to minister to the deepest part of my soul--the part that needed it the most.................... Jennifer H.

When I came to New Harbor Church I was so lonely. I knew I needed the fellowship of other Christian women but did not know if I could break out of my self-imposed isolation. I felt unworthy of anyone’s friendship, let alone" godly people"... But Zebras has made me feel the true acceptance of these wonderful women. I have slowly opened my heart to them, with their encouragement and love! I don't have that heavy ache of solitude anymore. ................Barbara B.

I was with you in the beginning meetings of the herd and watched it evolve into a place where we as sisters in Christ could share our burdens without judgment. Being a Zebra helped me through a very trying time- Leap of Faith– leaving a relationship, selling my home and trusting in God. It was encouraging to know that I was not alone and being a part of a group where women could feel understood, comforted, and lifted up spiritually. .................Tracy M.

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