From Abundantly Blessed to Joyfully Blessing, meet our final Co-Founder, Nicole Wharton

I suppose it’s about time that I come out from behind the keyboard to properly introduce myself….

Hi! I’m Nicole Wharton, and it is such an honour to play a part in the ministry of Village of Grace. You’ve already met the heart, Elissa Ponich, and the head, Brandy DeFord, so I suppose that makes me the hands (at least in the sense of typing these posts).

I am a devoted wife (to the most incredible husband) and mother of four incredible children. My husband and I are entrepreneurs who homeschool and raise our crew together during the day while investing in the lives of others throughout our evenings. We have one daughter, whom we had the honour of adopting from the DRCongo, and three energetic sons. Our oldest son was also adopted (from South Africa) and then after years of infertility we were blessed with two more sons.

I first met Elissa while waiting to meet my daughter. She was so kind and gracious in guiding me through the adoption journey, having already completed her own. I met Brandy later on and to this day feel extremely blessed to be in life with these two incredible women having joined together in hopes of blessing the country of Congo. Like Elissa, I am forever changed by my time spent in this amazing country and the impact of the very joy-filled and resilient people I met there. It is important to me that my children grow up proud of their roots and appreciative of where their stories began.

Prior to the start of my entrepreneurial journey, I was a hairstylist who desired to make people feel great about themselves. My heart's cry has always been to encourage, edify, and add value to the people around me. I’m not sure how skilled I was with the scissors, but my chair was always full likely because of the way I made people feel. I believe that it is important that we encourage one another along this life and look for ways to build community through generosity, love, and truth. I’m not really sure what I bring to Village of Grace that others could not easily fill, but I have a willingness to lend a hand wherever possible, and a hunger to learn new skills whenever necessary. I am eager to be the hands & feet of Jesus and to use my gifts to further the Kingdom and benefit the people around me whether in my own household, next door, across the country, or around the world.

One of my favourite scriptures is Galatians 5:13, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” I fall short of this so often, but I truly believe that I have been richly blessed in order to be a blessing to others. I also believe that I have been called to speak truth in love. The world is in a season of denying the existence of truth while also having forgotten how to love. It is important to me that I teach my children both truth and love, through my words, actions, and example.

By now you know I’m going to end this post with some questions for you to reflect on yourself. So how are you being called to serve the world around you? What does it look like to serve humbly in love? Where have you gone away from standing for truth? How are you being called to show more love? I believe love requires action and I implore you to examine your own life to identify what actions you can take today to lead a life of truth and love. How have you been perfectly equipped to be a blessing to the world around you? How can you grow your own willingness to be the hands & feet of Jesus? What are you doing to leave this world better than you entered it?

Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a little better. We at Village of Grace would love to hear from you! What questions do you have about our charity? What would you like us to share with you next? Thank you for being on the journey with us.