Meet the Women of NAOBC – Miranda Hardy

On Mondays, we’ll take time to meet the women of NAOBC. Five questions followed by how you can connect with the NAOBC women on social media. Today’s interview is with Miranda Hardy.

Q: Tell us about yourself

A: I am a Florida native, born and raised in Jacksonville and moved to Pensacola during my high school years. Born into a minister’s family, my parents were always serving and loving the church well. They taught me to love and serve God and I became a believer at the age of 14. I am the youngest of four kids, so of course the most rotten. After I graduated form nursing school in 2006, I moved to East Asia for three years to share the truth about Jesus with unreached people groups. I loved every minute of that experience and will always remember how the Lord protected and guided me through difficult things. I moved to Louisville after that experience to start my education at Southern Seminary. I graduated with an M.Div. in 2014 standing beside my now husband, Scott Hardy. Strangely enough, NAOBC brought us together and we met in the Singles Department. We got married in 2013 and graduated together in 2014. We now have two precious girls; Hazel, age five, and Harlow, age two. We are prayerful the Lord will allow us to add to our family in the future. I also work full time at Baptist Health Louisville in the cancer center as a nurse navigator for breast cancer patients. That basically means I talk to patients at the beginning of their journey and offer medical knowledge for the many questions that come up and support them along the way It is an incredibly rewarding job and I am thankful fo the opportunity.

Q: Tell us about your time at NAOBC

A: I started attending NAOBC in 2011 after moving to Louisville for seminary. I fell in love with this church because of the emphasis on missions from day one. I actually knew five people from the mission feld that I worked with who were already members of NAOBC. It felt like home on day one. We are currently involved with YC7 and Scott serves the class as the teacher. He is also a deacon and we serve as decision counselors (pre-Covid) and in the nursery.

Q: What is a fun fact that most people wouldn’t know about you?

A: I used to live in the foothills of the Himalayas and I have eaten a number of crazy things. Including, but not limited to, donkey, fish brains, chicken organs, and feet. Also, I kind of like donkey.

Q: What woman has made the most impact in your life?

A: This one is easy. It has to be my Mom. She spent her life making sure her children were well cared for and knew the truth about Jesus. She sacrificed everything for us and it did not go unnoticed. Even when all of her children moved out of the house, she cared for her elderly Mom, Sister with dementia, and her Uncle with lung cancer. She was always giving of herself until the very end. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and fought that right until October 2015. She went home to be with her Savior after a life lived for His glory. She is the reason I work with breast cancer patients now and she is the main reason why I am a Christ follower as well.

Q: What is something the Lord has taught you in the last year?

A: This has been a hard year, I will not lie. We have had our share of losses and hurts along with the rest of the world. Something that the Lord has reiterated to me time and time again this year is to trust Him and to view the world in light of His glory and His eternality. Too often I get caught in my own little bubble of life and do not think about the eternal. I also just lost a fellow missionary friend suddenly in October that shook me to the core. This man lived and worked oversees with his wife and three children for 16 years and suddenly passed away with no warning at the age of 41. His life was a tribute to the Lord Jesus and exuded the light of Christ in all things. He lived with that intent and that purpose and it was evident. God used this sorrow to grow my dependence on Him and to remind me that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. What are we using our time for? If it is not for the furtherance of the gospel and His Glory, is it worth doing? These are deep thoughts that continue to churn in my heart over and over. I just finished reading my new favorite book, “The Hiding Place,” and the quote that sticks out to me the most over this year of trials, losses, and sorrow is this; “Some knowledge is too heavy…you cannot bear it…your Father will carry it until you are able…” I have clung to that and to the promises of God in His Word these past few months. My prayer for the future is that I will continually have the gospel of Christ on my lips and my prayers for the lost will not go unsaid.

You can follow Miranda on Facebook and Instagram @mirhardy.