Finding Myself Among 50 “Women to Watch” in Christianity Today

Last updated on: October 23, 2012 at 9:54 am by Amy Julia Becker

Finding Myself Among 50 “Women to Watch” in Christianity Today 2012-10-23T09:54:36-04:00 Amy Julia Becker

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This month’s cover story for Christianity Today profiles 50 evangelical women who “are profoundly shaping the evangelical church and North American society.” And somehow, I made the list, along with 49 other women who pretty much all seem far more noteworthy than I do (say, Ann Voskamp, Rachel Held Evans, Sara Groves, Joni Earekson Tada…). So I was surprised, and humbled, and grateful.

The news came in the midst of this challenging season, in which I haven’t written nearly as frequently or as much as I would like to do, in which I have been second guessing my decision to cut down my working hours in order to provide some stability for our kids, in which I have questioned my role as a wife, mother, and writer more than ever before. CT asked Gabe Lyons, founder of Q, to write a profile of me. You can read the whole piece here (click the link and then scroll down to the bottom of the page), and here are a few excerpts:

At 34, Amy Julia Becker has stirred one of the great philosophical conversations of our time: “What does it really mean to be perfect?”

In 2011, she authored A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), highlighting her struggles with perfectionism as she chronicled the months before and the years after learning that her firstborn daughter, Penny, has Down syndrome.

. . . Becker is widely admired for balancing her various callings and responsibilities as mother, wife, and writer. “Being fully human implies understanding ourselves as creatures,” she wrote. “A major aspect of recognizing my humanity meant recognizing that I am vulnerable, needy, dependent, and limited. Just like my daughter.”

I read those words out loud to Peter a few weeks back, and he said, “And now she’s living the philosophy. She can talk the talk but can she walk the walk?” Most days I’m not sure that I’m balancing my various callings all that well, but I have been encouraged by the thought that even in the midst of a season of slowing down professionally in order to serve my family, I might be learning more about what it means to follow God’s call on my life and perhaps even encourage others as they do the same.

So, thanks to CT– in the midst of this season of not-so-much writing and lots of mother and wife responsibilities–for reminding me that God is present in it all, and that my limitations are a part of who I am as God’s child.

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