by Martha Brangenberg
(Co-Host of IWork4Him Radio)
As a little girl, I had an extensive hat collection. I’m pretty sure it started because someone told me I looked good in a hat. The red sunbonnet made from bandana material made me feel sweet and old-fashioned. I loved wearing the patchworked, floppy sunhat to shade my
face when relaxing outside. I splurged on a black felt Fedora to wear to the 8th-grade disco dance. My hat collection’s crowning jewel had to be the coveted maroon and gold sombrero worn only as a costume and clumsy to display! The hat tree in my bedroom held dozens of options, but I could only wear one at a time, and the one selected depended on my activities.
Hats can symbolize a specific time in history, a fashion statement, a culture, or a purpose. No matter which hat is on my head, I am still the same person underneath. I may look different based on which hat I am wearing, but I am still 100% the same person. The same is true of our lives—we wear many symbolic hats. I may be making lunches, posting journal entries, merchandising a store, teaching a small group Bible study, or hosting an interview, but it’s all the same person doing these things! God has given me many different roles to fill but one life to live. It would be exhausting to change hats all day long…
Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” (TLB). If this is true for me, and Jesus changes me, then I have a permanent hat to wear, and according to the Bible, it’s a crown (2 Tim. 4:8). I can wear this crown everywhere I go and for everything I do. This crown is integrated into my wardrobe and sets the environment for all that I do. Just think, no more hat changes, and we get to wear a tiara every day.
In life, women change roles like I used to change hats—often! We may have so many parts we don’t even know which hat we are wearing. It can be confusing and tiring to keep changing hats. There is a better way to handle this.
According to Psalms 139:13, He knit us together in our mother’s womb. I am not separate pieces but entirely knit together. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (NLT). Our Creator wants to be involved in every detail of our lives, not segmented pieces but every part. When I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, He didn’t save me just for Sunday morning. Jesus changed me completely, all of me, every minute of every day and every detail of my life. This is good news.
I can do everything wearing the same hat. Just start the day with the crown and leave it on all day. This crown is to be worn everywhere I go and for everything I do. It is integrated into my being and sets the environment for all that I encounter. I’ll wear my crown on a Zoom call, in the grocery store, in traffic, taking out the trash, when I post on social media, answering emails, and everywhere in between. It’s time to integrate Jesus into every aspect of life as a Christian working woman.
The sheWorks4Him bookwill help us see how to wear the crown all day every day. God is giving us a front-row seat to learn from the lives of over a dozen wonderful Christian working women. Some days our crown might be crooked or need to be polished, but that is why we need each other. I’ll straighten your crown if you straighten mine.
My view of hats has changed over the years, and I currently only have one hat in my closet: a casual baseball cap that I wear on occasion. I think it’s time to trade it in and get a tiara!
This excerpt from the first chapter of sheWorks4Him: Embrace Your Calling as Christian Women at Work is my gift to you. To read more stories and insights from Christian women in the workplace pick up a copy of the complete book by visiting iWork4Him.com/bookstore. sheWorks4Him was written to celebrate, validate, encourage, and equip Christian women byspecifically addressing the diverse experiences and challenges women today face in the workforce. Learn how to impact the Kingdom daily and embrace your calling with sheWorks4Him!
- Martha Brangenberg, Co-founder of iWork4Him and sheWorks4Him