22/09/2026
PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN | ARTICLE BY RACHEL TURNER
THE POWER OF ORDINARY LIFE
Author and discipleship Pastor at Hope Church, Harrogate, Rachel Turner, visited Northern Ireland in September to deliver Presbyterian Women’s autumn event, Tell the Story, in First Portadown Presbyterian Church.
In the recent edition of the INSPIRE magazine, Rachel outlines some of her insights about the impact sharing our ordinary lives can have on non-believers.
When it comes to sharing faith, most of us are unconfident. Whether it’s because we don’t know how to get past the awkward introduction of the topic, or the feeling that it might be met with hostility, the desire to share our faith with others can be a complicated one - but it isn’t designed to be.
You already have one of the most powerful tools to share faith that God designed - your ordinary life.
Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we could live our ordinary lives with God, every day. Our normal worries and triumphs, our work life and home life are filled with little encounters with the living God. In our weakness, he shines. In our needs, he shows who he is. In our daily life, he gives his freedom.
Therefore, your ordinary life is a beautiful display of who God is, if only people could see it! Faith is such a private experience, happening in our minds and hearts. We get worried about giving people the information of the gospel, but I would suggest that what they need more is a window into the experience of the gospel.
Look at Scripture. We can focus on the ‘big’ stories, like the parting of the Red Sea, or Jesus feeding the 5,000. However, so much of Scripture is not big stories, but little ones. God in ordinary lives.
Leah found joy in the Lord despite being trapped in a loveless marriage. (Genesis 29:35)
A woman who was nearly out of food generously shared with God’s messenger, and God provided miraculously for her and her son. (1 Kings 17:17-26)
A woman who was financially struggling brought her last few coins to the temple, to privately give them to God. She never knew, but Jesus was watching and told his disciples about her. (Mark 12:41-44)
I could go on and on. So much of the Bible is stories of God in ordinary lives. God thought those stories were so important that he ensured they were recorded in Scripture and we have been learning from them for thousands of years.
God encouraged the Israelites “do not forget what your eyes have seen… teach them to your children and your children after them” (Deuteronomy 4:9). He knew how vital their stories of God in their lives would be to the next generation. Every generation needs to hear personal stories from people who experienced life with God.
My mum used to take me with her to lots of church events and friend gatherings: evening services, women’s groups, choir practice, prayer nights, breakfasts, baby showers. Many times, I was the only child or teenager there. It was some of the most profound and valuable spiritual times in my life - because of the stories.
A woman openly shared about her 20-year-old son who was struggling with drug addiction. I would listen intently to how she talked about what she prayed for, and how she saw God intervening and helping. I would hear women sharing their medical journeys and how their faith was helping them. I watched a woman process her recent MS diagnosis with trust and deep peace, and a young woman talked about her recent miscarriage and how God held her through that. I saw someone process the loss of her husband of 50 years and what Bible verses she clung to. I watched a person in her 40’s care for her disabled child with kindness and gratitude and share how her child was a blessing to her and her faith. I heard stories of God in workplaces and care homes, in miraculous rescues and deep loss. I learned how to hang onto God in every circumstance and what to do when wrestling with doubt and spiritual numbness.
I learned all this, not through sermons or someone trying to ‘share their faith’ with me, but by people generously being willing to talk about their own lives and where God is in all of it.
Whether you are new to faith, or have been a Christian for 70 years, you have stories to share. Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that our daily lives could be full of the companionship of God. Let people see it. When people ask about your week, feel free to tell them the whole story! What you are reading, what you are worried about, what God is doing, and what you are excited about. If God is a part of your life, talking about him is part of the natural way to share your life with others. Share your real stories with your friends, your children, your siblings, parents and neighbours. Let God be as natural a part of your stories as he is in your life.
Sharing your faith is merely living a life with God, and telling your ordinary stories of life with God. We can all do that!
