her |həː, hə| pronoun 1 used as the object of a verb or preposition to refer to a female person: Her life was a testament of God’s faithfulness.
It’s International Women’s Day and I’m thrilled to celebrate by honoring the strong, dedicated and faith-filled women who have encouraged and inspired our Equipped by Faith community over the years! And what a perfect day to celebrate a strong, beautiful representation of femininity and motherhood through my dear friend, Raema Mauriello!
Raema is a wife, mother of four and the author of two incredibly relevant devotional books based on transparent motherhood called, The Struggle is Real and Because Crack is Illegal. She works on staff at Shoreline City church in Dallas and is also the Director of Operations for Treasured Vessels Foundation, a beautiful organization rescuing young girls from human trafficking in Texas. Her career started when she joined the Navy as a journalist and search and rescue swimmer. She graduated from Liberty University with her Bachelors in Religious Studies and continues to serve in ministry through her weekly podcast and blog.
Raema is one of the most transparent women I have ever met. She approaches life and motherhood with such passion and zeal, attracting everyone around her through her genuine authenticity and down to earth humor. She is such an inspiration and a beautiful reflection of God’s love. I am so blessed to know her and can’t wait to share her heart with all of you! If you missed last night, I encourage you to listen to the podcast here or read through the notes from the podcast in the written interview below!
Q&A with Raema Mauriello
What do you think you were put on this earth for?
To be a mother who raises future world changers who have a passion to bring heaven to earth. To inspire and motivate those around me to become everything God created them to be. I feel fulfilled when I get to walk alongside those in my life and cheer them on as they crush their dreams. And someday I want to travel and share the Gospel with the hurting and broken globally. (But secretly, I want to be a backup dancer in a music video or a hype man in a rap video…)
What are some of the obstacles you have had to go through to get to this point?
My husband (Jordan) and I met while serving in the Navy and 6 months into dating I became pregnant. We got married the day before Jordan deployed so I gave birth to my first born alone and Jordan returned after our son was 6 weeks old. At that point, we had been married for 8 months but spent zero of those days together so joining forces and learning what marriage looked like was really challenging for us. I discovered shortly after his return that he had a porn addiction and had been unfaithful. Jordan made the hard choice to get help and get set free from his addiction, however, I became bitter and angry and swore I would make him pay for how he hurt me. I became emotionally, verbally and at times physically abusive and he took it because he believed he deserved it. I drank excessively to try to numb the pain and to really hurt him and out of spite, I chose to be unfaithful. Only by God’s grace are we still married. It was through Jordan’s kindness and forgiveness that I had my first real encounter with Jesus. He was Jesus with skin on in that season which drew me to salvation. We decided divorce wasn’t going to be an option for us, we worked hard to create peace in our home and in our marriage, and have been married for 15 years and now have 4 kids.
What motivates/inspires you?
I am motivated by the lack in the world, the gaps that are present and choose to use the gifts and talents, wins and losses in my life to be a voice or a bridge to bring solutions to those problems. I love creating things that don’t already exist and to build things from the ground up.
What advice would you give other women searching for their purpose, passion & faith?
I want to be remembered as someone who wasn’t afraid to get the hard stuff done, to say what the rest of the world is afraid to say, to confront the dark places the enemy has set up camp and bring heaven to earth in those areas. I want to be known as a wife who inspired those around me to love their spouse deeper, a mother who laid a strong foundation for her kids to build on, a friend who was dependable and a woman who surrendered to Jesus in all areas of her life. I want to be able to stand before my Father one day, empty because I poured everything out that He gave me.
What would you say to someone who is ready to give up hope, throw in the towel, or give up the fight?
Pray. Far too often we are looking for our purpose from the world but we will always be left wanting when that is our source. We have to first be rooted and grounded in what God says about us and out of our relationship with Him will we hear clearly the direction He is wanting us to go. Don’t compare. God hasn’t wired any of us the same, none of us have the same exact calling, gifts and talents. If we compare our lives with those around us we get our focus off of the race WE have been given to run and we are all up in our neighbors lane trying to beat them in THEIR race. This actually robs us of productivity and ground-taking because we lose focus and it wastes time. Quitting is not an option. Faith requires us to take steps when we don’t see what’s in front of us. When things get hard, storms rage too long, doors remain closed, and mountains are too high to climb so we often quit. God never designed us to lay down and die in the middle, He created us to overcome, fight, conquer and win. We have to constantly remind ourselves that the battle is the Lord’s and He is mighty to save, His name is above every other name, He is the Alpha and the Omega, He will never leave us nor forsake us and He is a warrior. When these are the things we think on in the midst of trial or pain we are less likely to lose our faith. Lastly, staying in the Word is also a non-negotiable. If we don’t know what the Word says we will believe what the world says and the world is a hot mess.
What has been your greatest achievement in life?
Salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus. These two things are available for everyone, but before I gave my life to the Lord I was actively running AWAY from Him at every chance provided to me. The fact that He was so kind and faithful to pursue me even when I cursed His name is too humbling to put into words.
I’ve accomplished a lot of things in my lifetime:
Served in the military
Graduated the Search and Rescue course (only 7 women had graduated in the entire fleet at the point)
Got married at 20 and stayed married
Had 4 kids (and I’ve kept all of them alive!)
Got my college degree after having 4 kids
Wrote and published 2 books
Have a podcast
Work for a non profit that will build homes for adolescent girls who have been recovered from domestic sex trafficking (a service that is non existent in North Texas).
Work on staff at Shoreline City
Spoken to thousands of people
But when I look back on these accomplishments, it all pales in comparison to getting to carry the title, “daughter of God.”
How does what you do reflect what God placed on your heart to share with the world?
I do a LOT of different things but the main thread that runs through all of them is God’s heart for a broken world. I love to laugh and God has used my humor as a tool to help tear down walls and it’s opened up hearts to receive what Jesus wants to speak to someone. I was a journalist in the Navy and in hindsight I can see how God was preparing me to write way back then, before I even knew Him or how to live a functional and healthy life. Now, I love to write and it’s another avenue God has used to reach His daughters. But, to be a bazillion percent honest, I never thought I wanted to have kids (now the joke is on me because I have four). Through my kids God has taught me so many lessons about who He is and how He loves us. Being a mom has given me content for DAYS to write about because kids are crazy and God has given me a unique perspective when it comes to who we are to Him. Being on staff at the church has blessed me with so many opportunities to love on the “one”. I have been able to cry with the hurting, pray with the broken, walk with people through hard seasons and love others the way Jesus has loved me. Being planted in the church has kept me grounded and grateful.
What books are you reading?
It sounds super cliche to say the Bible, but I’m always reading that. I am a super Bible nerd so I have ALL of the concordances, Bible dictionaries and when I read, I can’t ever casually read it for 10 minutes—I always end up 1-2 hours deep with notes in Hebrew and walk away with more questions then when I started.
I am also reading Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio and (nerd alert) The Art of War by Sun-Tzu. If you are looking for a good leadership book I just finished Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.
How do you stay encouraged & faith-filled?
My husband is my biggest cheerleader and he’s a pillar so when I’m feeling weak or broken he’s the one who keeps me standing. Being in community has been vital for my mental and spiritual health. Being surrounded by a life-giving group of women who fan the flame in you, correct you when you drift, sit with you when you are hurting, fight for you when you are too weak to fight for yourself, pray for you when you don’t have the words and push you to be greater has radically changed and transformed my life and how I even interact with other women.
Favorite scripture of the moment (or ever)? 🙂
Geez…just one scripture? The scripture that I can’t stop thinking about is the very first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God…” It’s a constant reminder to me that God is the originator of everything. He doesn’t show up at the end or in the middle but He is always there in the beginning and we have the honor of partnering with what He has already begun. Second one is Genesis 16:13 “You’re the God who sees me.” There is never a second of a day that God doesn’t see you. You may feel overlooked by the rest of the world but God always has His eyes fixed on you. You are loved, valued and believed in.
Love you all, and can’t wait to see you next month at Equipped by Faith!
XO-
Sabrina
