God Saw Her

This message was shared by Darla Butterfield at our Casting the Light event. These are the stories of women God saw, and how He’s reaching them through Arise Women’s Ministry.

When I think about Arise Women’s Ministry, I’m reminded of Hagar in Genesis 16. She was a pregnant Egyptian slave, mistreated by her mistress, who fled into the wilderness. It was there that God met her, and from that encounter she gave Him a name: “You are the God who sees me.”

God sees His daughters. He always has, and He still does today.

Long before these women walked through our doors, God saw them. Here are just a few of the stories of the types of women Arise reaches.

God saw the woman who had just moved to Salem. A widow, learning to navigate a new city and overwhelmed by the search for a church home. Through a Facebook post, she learned about Arise and joined our Bible study. God answered her prayer for community with other Christian women, and she found belonging and hope as she settled into a new season of life. Through connections at Arise, she learned about local churches and found her church home, along with a sisterhood of women at Arise. She is living proof that God still cares about the widow.

God saw the weary woman. She was tired from constantly giving her time and energy to those she loved. She longed to get away for a retreat, but her church didn’t offer one. Then a friend told her about the Fall Retreat with Arise, which is open to all women, not just those from one church. She felt as though God was answering her prayer. She arrived depleted and desperate for hope, and God met her there. Her time with Jesus and with other women was exactly what she needed. She left a changed woman, refreshed and smiling, knowing God still provides for His daughters.

God saw the quiet woman. She had questions and was looking for a community where she could listen and find answers. She didn’t know what she believed, and she didn’t say much, but she kept coming. When her heart was burdened with a question, she felt safe enough to come to me. Because of that conversation, she made a life-affirming decision that changed the rest of her life.

God saw the woman carrying wounds from her church, the very place that should have brought her healing. She felt alone and longed for community again. Through Arise, God gave her a safe place to open her Bible alongside other women and remember the God who never changes. As her heart healed, she began to trust again and started asking about finding a home church. She was finally ready to take the next step in her faith journey.

God saw the woman in West Salem who longed to go deeper in Scripture. Her church didn’t offer a women’s ministry, and she didn’t want to cross the bridge at night to find one. So God made a place for her at our Monday night Bible study. She had known the Lord for years but had never read the entire Bible. With encouragement from the Arise leaders, she took on the challenge, and what she discovered in those pages left her amazed. Her life was transformed, and now she’s the one inspiring other women to do the same.

God saw the grandmother, the mom, and the daughters, all caught up in the busy seasons of life and longing to connect with one another and with their shared faith. They found that moment at our Sisterhood Celebration, where they worshiped together, paused to sit with the Holy Spirit, and engaged with Him through visual prayer. They left that day knowing God’s Word spans generations, and hopeful for the legacy of faith being passed down in their family.

God saw the woman who never felt like she fit in at church. She had tried many churches and groups, and each time left feeling like she didn’t belong. She began to wonder if Christianity was worth it if she would always be the outsider. Then a friend encouraged her to try one more time, this time with Arise. Her friend said these women were different: welcoming, and not judging her for her appearance. So she came, and she finally found the community she had been longing for. She arrived with shaky faith, unsure what she believed. Over the years, we’ve watched her ask questions, dive into Scripture, and grow. Now she is confident that God’s Word is true, and she’s not ashamed to tell others what she has discovered!

God saw the homeschool mom. She poured into her children day in and day out, and never found a Bible study that fit her schedule, until she discovered Arise’s online study. Finally, she could connect with other women and dig into Scripture together. She hadn’t realized how long it had been since she’d done something for her own spiritual growth. Through that study, God met her and breathed life back into her soul. She grew in her faith and became a better wife and mom because of it. Now she tells others to give an online study a chance, because God can use it to reach women who need that option.

God saw Janelle. She missed being part of a moms’ group, but she worked full-time and her options were limited. We prayed, and we felt God leading us to start Moms of Grace through Arise. We didn’t know it would be the hardest year of Janelle’s life. She lost a long-awaited baby girl in her second trimester, with a due date of Good Friday. But God knew she would need this sisterhood to grieve beside her. And He saw what was still ahead: another pregnancy, due again on Good Friday the very next year. He carried her through every uncertain, anxious moment. And He saw the joy of healthy baby Pamela Grace, born in March. Women at Arise who weren’t even sure what they believed watched God’s redemption story unfold through Janelle’s life.

And God saw me.

When we gathered in my living room in the summer of 2020 to pray and dream, I had no idea what storms were coming. But God knew I would need to go deeper in understanding who He is. He challenged me to read through the entire Bible so I could see His faithful character across all of Scripture, preparing me for what was ahead.

After COVID, my husband began facing puzzling symptoms. Doctors tested him for everything from brain tumors to cancer to multiple sclerosis. He was eventually diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a condition with no known cure, and he needed a power wheelchair just to function.

God knew that in those hardest moments, I would need the women of Arise beside me. And He saw even more. He saw the day my husband would be miraculously healed at a conference at my church, with a group of women praying over him. He saw the testimony I would share about that healing at our Fall Retreat, and He knew those women needed to hear that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

He is the God who continues to see and care for His daughters.

God knew what was missing in our community, and exactly how to reach these women. Arise is the place He chose to meet them right where they were and transform their hearts through the power of His Word, as only He can.

We know there's more women that God sees. Want to be part of reaching them? Partner with us and let's see what God does next!