Bekah Legg is a part-time teacher and Editor of Liberti magazine; a Christian women’s magazine with a vision to liberate women in this country to be all that they were created to be.
At home she is kept on her toes by five fabulous girls and a husband, who occasionally dices with death by singing ‘The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow’ when he thinks she looks like she’s at the end of her tether.
I first met Bekah at an Activate meeting in London. This was right at the beginning of the amazing Liberti story. We decided straight away that we would love to get to know Bekah more and support this fantastic ministry. Many of you received a free Liberti Magazine from the Activate Your Life dream team.
This year Bekah joined us at the Love Actually weekend away. I attended her packed session and was stirred and humoured with all in attendance. Bekah’s down to earth, practical style, resonated with every woman there. I would encourage each of you to take a look at the website and subscribe to the Liberti Magazine …. It is a fantastic resource not only for your own life, but a great give away to friends….
Finally I have to say I LOVE the new pocket size addition, fits perfectly into your handbag ….obviously that was designed by a Woman…
www.libertimagazine.com
I hope you enjoy this interview as much I did …A real “Dangerous Woman” (May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow and be radically alive for God., Lynne Hybels)
When did your faith first become something you took seriously and how did that come about
It’s had its ups and downs! I first chose to follow God as a small child; I grew up in a family where Jesus was part of the household and made a conscious decision to follow him when I was very little. Over the years my commitment to God ebbed and flowed – I always knew he was there but there were times, particularly as a teenager and as a student when, rather than listen to his voice, I stuck my hands over my ears and tried not to hear.
I ended up lalalaing my way into an abusive marriage which left me bewildered and broken on the other side of the world and not sure how to turn back to the God who I knew was waiting for me but whom I felt I had let down so terribly.
I had an incredible moment, shortly after the birth of my first daughter, Gemma, when I was holding her in my arms and trying to comprehend this incredible force of love that seemed to consume me for her. Clear as a bell I felt God say “Bekah, that’s how I feel about you”. It was a life changing moment.
What led you to start Liberti magazine.
Initially, it was just because I was asked to! A friend of ours, Bev Murill, had started the magazine years before and she approached Steve and I and asked if we would take it over.
Steve, my husband, started and produced Sorted, a Christian men’s lifestyle magazine, four years before and lots of people had asked if we could do something similar for women it seemed like the ideal opportunity.
That said, I’m trained as a teacher with literally no background at all in writing or publishing so it was a huge step, but I came to realise that actually, God had released me from the chains of my past and that he was asking me to help him release more women through this magazine. Liberti went from being something I felt I should do, to something I feel incredibly passionate about.
What is the vision of Liberti?
At Liberti, we have a dream to see women walk in freedom. Freedom from their past – from pain, from negative expectations placed upon them by the people who have walked alongside them and by the culture they have lived in.
But much more than that– we have a dream to see women walk in the freedom to be all that they were created to be – to dare to dream, to be equipped to walk into that dream and to be free to fly as they spread their God given wings and dare to leap into their future.
We have a dream to reach women all over the country with the message that Jesus was good news to women, that he went out of his way to honour, restore and release them. And that he still does.
What’s been your biggest challenge?
Honestly? Finances. It’s boring but it’s true. We have been incredibly blessed by fantastic women who write for us out of the goodness of their heart, but it still costs to get a magazine printed and distributed.
We send hundreds of editions of Liberti into prisons, to military wives, to brothels, but we could do so much more. I believe Liberti has the ability to impact women’s lives all over the nation – to speak truth into their lives.
Have you ever felt like giving up?
I’ve had my moments! I love what I do, but I get exhausted trying to be a Mum, hold down my job and keep Liberti going. There are times when it all feels too much and I start worrying that it’s all futile. But God’s good – he knows when to send in a pick me up; for example I recently received a letter from a sex worker in London who was given a copy through London City Mission. She said this:
‘I found your magazine overwhelming. It mentions things normal magazines wouldn’t mention. It opens your eyes about how to turn negative things around. It makes me realise that in the things I’ve been through in my life, Jesus has been teaching me.’
That letter alone is worth the tiredness, and the stress and the fear.
What would you say to someone who might be looking to start something new
Talk to lots of people, research what you are doing and get some good people around you to support you and advise you. Not just ‘yes’ people but people who will tell you what you need to hear. And pray, root everything in prayer.
What has been the most valuable lesson you have learned?
That God really can do anything. As I’m writing this, I’ve just realised that it’s ten years to the day since I arrived back in England with two baby girls, some suitcases and a lot of broken dreams. Ten years I could no sooner have imagined this life I’m living than I could have imagined me travelling to the moon. It is literally amazing what God has done.
How has the journey of launching Liberti & meeting its ongoing demands grown & stretched you?
I’ve had to get braver. When I first started, I really felt like who was I to pass this message of God on to people? I’d go to meetings and wonder what on earth I thought I could achieve – I felt very insignificant and as though everyone must think I was trying to pull a fast one.
I still feel pretty small but I’ve come to see that that’s OK, so long as I keep listening to God and doing what I think he’s asking me to do, he’ll do the rest of the work. Even if I feel like an amateur, he’s a pro.
I understand you’re not just the editor of the magazine but you are also a mum of a large family—-how do you find balancing that with the demands of the magazine
Firstly, I’m not sure I’ve ever achieved an actual balance. It’s more of a juggle and I occasionally drop some balls. I think the reality of being a working parent is the perpetual fear that you are disappointing someone, and I think the balance, as such, is accepting that sometimes that will happen but that it’s not the end of the world.
I’ve learned to manage my time very carefully – to schedule in time with the kids, immovable dates with my husband, set aside days for the magazine and to give myself the occasional time off from them all!!
What valuable lessons have you learned as a mum and what advice would you give to similarly busy mums?
That when I’m with my kids I need to be fully with them. Not playing with my phone or disappearing to write an email or quietly composing a shopping list in my head. If they know they have my full attention during the day at some point each day, then they are fine for me to have other times when I need to work.
Is there anything else you might want to add…..?
HA! I think I’ve blathered on enough!
