The Saltworks Story
We have another feature blogger this week! I met Hallie last year at a conference we were working. Fast forward to 2024, and we are both planning to speak at the Ignite Women’s Conference in Alexandria in August. Enjoy her encouragement this week. - Amanda
By Hallie Dye
There’s a reason I have a drawing of Peter walking out to Jesus on the water behind my desk at my office. There are so many parts of that story that resonate with me deeply. The way Peter desires ultimately to walk with Jesus where he walks—and even refuses to step out should the Lord not call him. The way he takes a number of steps in strong faith—putting his full belief in the One who commands the seas. The way he shifts his eyes to where his own two feet dare to stand. The feeling of the panic setting in when he realizes what he’s dared to believe—dared to attempt. When his heart and feet sink when he sees the wind and waves he’s up against. When he falters and sputters in unbelief, calling out to the only who can save him—the very God who had called him to stand right where he is.
That story first became a powerful reminder when I finished my first draft of my book years ago and then spoke for the first time shortly after. Neither were things I’d ever planned or considered, and the same could be said for my podcast the Saltworks. I’m not sure exactly what I thought happened from the moment someone went from being at their home to standing on a stage or what occurred between someone typing the first sentence and becoming a published author. I guess if you’d have pressed me for an answer, I would have said you had to be asked to stand in any of these places. I’ve found that to be undeniably true—just not by man nor the world.
My book began in the notes on my phone sitting on my bed after a long day of quarantine with three small children at home. My speaking began with a text from a friend to see if I’d be willing to speak at a women’s event coming up. My podcast began when I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to share the story of a local ministry that was just getting started. When listed out, all of these seem random, yet none of them I could have completed nor endured on my own. All have come at the calling of the Lord—and all I have doubted over and over, choosing to stare often at the audacity of where my unqualified feet have dared to stand.
When Jesus gets Peter safely back into the boat, he asks him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I’ve often felt compelled to come to Peter’s defense here, because I have no doubt that Jesus is able—I only doubt myself. However, one thing we say often on the Saltworks is, “when you doubt the calling, you’re really doubting the Caller.” Because we aren’t necessarily doubting if God is good—we are often asking will he be good to me? Has he called me out here to fail?
The reason Peter’s story is such a beautiful reminder is because it is a physical snapshot of a person doing what is humanly impossible—of doing what Peter should not be able to do, and yet he is called to it. What we learn here is that when God calls us to do something, he will sustain both the calling and the called. He will both lead us and hold us up. We should not be able, and on our own, we aren’t. Yet, like Peter and the other disciples in the boat, the places we most encounter our own limitations are the very places we encounter just how able Jesus is.
The Saltworks podcast has been a place where I have walked this out the most (pun intended). I fell in love with listening to podcasts years ago when I was staying home with babies and would turn on a podcast during nap time while I was doing other chores. It was a season of long days doing work that felt mundane and unseen, and I quickly realized the uncanny ability podcasts held to make one feel seen right in their own living rooms folding laundry or driving in their cars. How they can make the listener feel like they’re not just listening, but that they’re too a part of the conversation—that they have a place at the table. I can personally attest to how with one simple phrase, through the work of the Holy Spirit, they can change a life one degree at a time.
I love all kinds of faith-based podcasts, but my favorites are interview based and are often planned around books launching, music tours, and the like. These conversations are so powerful, because it is so evident how much time and prayer those sharing have put into each of their crafts. But it also made me think at times: what about the people like me? What about the people who are doing the work behind closed doors, following one step at a time, living out their callings where no one sees?
The word ‘saltworks’ is a word which can literally mean a place where salt is refined, and it can also be a slang term for jobs viewed as drudgery. Each of us is the salt of the earth—placed in our specific corners of the world to bring the hope of Jesus into the lives of others and to be refined as we walk daily with him. And much of our stories can feel like that: drudgery or mundane. Yet not a single part of our lives lack purpose when we live for the Lord, because God works in the Saltworks. It’s the place that we all walk regardless of what our calling is, what we’ve experienced, endured, faced, or overcome. It’s the miracles, big and small, the battles fought, the grief experienced, the love found, the overcoming and becoming that happens each and every day right around us. It’s the stories untold of so many faithful people seeking to find and follow this same faithful God. The Bible is full of these people, and they live right next door to you. The Saltworks are their stories, and it’s my honor—however undeserving that may be—to share them with you.
Like Peter, I have questioned what I’m doing and where I’m standing. Like Peter, I may not be qualified, but I do feel called, and I will continue to walk and fix my eyes over and over on the One who has called me—the same God who calls you. I will commit to remember hour by hour and minute by minute if necessary that the Lord who calls us really does hold it all. Like Peter, I won’t always do this well—and that’s okay. The truth is, out of self-doubt, Peter did fall. And there was immense grace and purpose in that. Because in his failing, he was reminded who was holding the wind, the waves, and Peter himself. Yes, Peter fell, but he did not drown. He was reminded that the Lord is just as sovereign in the storm as he is in the safety of the boat. He was reminded that Jesus holds just as much authority in the face of chaos as he does in calm waters.
I can’t help but think we need that same reminder today. He has a plan no matter what our circumstances may say. I may not know what the Lord holds for me or the Saltworks, but I know I’m going to follow him for the duration however he wants to use it. He really is our Good Shepherd, and He really will be faithful to us. He doesn’t need us to be all powerful because He is. He doesn’t need us to be able because He is. He doesn’t need us to be strong because He is. He just needs us to be faithful. With our eyes set on him and with the encouragement of those walking alongside us, I believe we can do just that no matter the walk set before us. Spend time with the Lord today and ask yourself: where are you feeling compelled to step today? The same God that held Peter holds you too.
Amanda here… Hallie didn’t know this, but this particular story of Peter is one of my favorites. There is so much to be gleaned from this story. It is my honest prayer to help people step into their calling with bold faith! Praying for you!
