Leanne’s Faith & Work Story
When Hope Gets Deferred:
Finding Your Way from Fear to Bold Expectation at Work
A recap of our April F&W Lunch with NEM Director of Ministry, Leanne Lytle
Last Friday, our Faith & Work lunch table was quieter than usual at moments — in the best possible way. NEM's Director of Ministry, Leanne Lytle, stepped up to the mic with something more personal than a prepared talk. She came with her story.
And she delivered.
This month's gathering was the latest in our six-month series, Freedom from Fear to Bold Expectation, and Leanne brought us into the heart of it: what happens when we carry misplaced expectations into our workplaces, and what it looks like when God begins to restore what felt lost.
Two Kinds of Heart Sickness
Leanne named two patterns she's lived through that many of us quietly carry:
1. Lost expectations, or unrealized dreams.
Twenty years ago, Leanne was enrolled in graduate school in New Orleans, engaged to be married, building community, and co-developing a dream to create a healing space for youth and families on land in Mississippi. The future felt full.
Then Hurricane Katrina hit.
Within 48 hours of her first class, she was evacuating. She and her fiancé got married while displaced. When they returned, church hurt entered the picture. Within months, they were moving to California, starting over, and the career path she felt God had called her toward was, as far as she could tell, gone.
"All those dreams I had to finish school, move into my career, and do the work I really felt God had given me and others a vision for, was gone."
What followed was nine years of deferred hope. She still worked. She still served. She still followed Jesus. But she couldn't step fully into the career and leadership she was made for — not yet.
In 2016, she graduated. And the joy in her face when she showed that photo? That was the face of someone who'd learned that God doesn't abandon what He plants.
"He will restore the years the locust has eaten." — Joel 2:25
2. Wrongly ordered expectations — fear of man in the workplace.
Even after the dream was restored, a new challenge surfaced. Now in her career, Leanne found herself measuring her progress against others who had a ten-year head start. Insecurity crept in. Imposter syndrome. Overproducing to compensate. A weariness that accumulated slowly, quietly, over years. She put it plainly:
"There is a weariness and a dried-up feeling that comes when you are constantly motivated or thinking about other people's expectations, and how you're not meeting up to those expectations.”
She referenced Jeremiah 17, where God describes the person who trusts in man and makes flesh their strength as "a shrub in the desert." Not defeated — just parched. And that image resonated around the room.
The Psalm That Reorients Everything
Leanne anchored the morning in Psalm 118, a song of praise used in the Passover tradition — a fitting text for the Easter season. Two verses in particular stood out:
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes." — Psalm 118:8–9
She closed by reading the full psalm over the room as a prayer, and it felt like what it was: a congregation, together, rehearsing the goodness of God in the face of whatever fear or disappointment we'd brought in with us.
On Joy and an Unexpected Teacher
One of the most surprising (and delightful) turns in Leanne's talk was what she shared about how God has been restoring her joy in recent years: through a global improv community.
"I am not a theater person," she laughed. But some of the rules of improv, especially “yes, and “, began to mirror something true about her faith.
In improv, you listen fully, you set aside your own agenda, and you add to what someone else has offered for the benefit of the group. You show up and play, even if it's imperfect. And when you're actually in it? Fear doesn't have room to live.
She described a virtual meeting where the group was singing. She could have watched. Instead, she unmuted and started singing We Are the Champions — off key, imperfect, and exactly right.
"The shift in my brain that I actively felt between when I was watching and when I was engaging was completely different."
Her takeaway? The Holy Spirit is her biggest improv partner. Scripture is alive and active. And in our workplaces, we have a choice. Watch what God might be doing, or step up into it with expectation, and let the imperfection be part of the story.
What Rose Up in the Room
After small group discussion, the community shared moments of clarity:
"Release control, and let God handle it."
"Revert back to what God said."
"Figure out what it is God wants you to do — even in retirement — and it may not be the end you were expecting."
And really, that last one sums up so much of what Leanne held for us that morning: the work God has for you rarely looks exactly like you imagined. But it's often better. And it's always worth expecting.
Reflection Questions for the Week
Whether you were in the room or catching up now, take a few minutes with these:
In what ways have you experienced hope deferred in your career or workplace? How has that shaped what you believe God might still want to do through your work?
What expectations do you currently feel from others at work, spoken or unspoken, and how are those driving your actions?
Where are you finding joy right now? Is the Holy Spirit inviting you to step into something rather than just watch from the sidelines?
Needle's Eye Ministry exists to connect faith and work — helping people from all industries discover how God is active in their daily work. Our Faith & Work lunches happen monthly, and we'd love to have you at the table.
We have cohorts coming up in May for Influencers (May 8), real estate professionals (May 14), and business owners & executives (May 21) at Brambly Park.
Learn more and join us.
