S1 E6: Divine Downloads & Discernment: Wendy Osborne on Leading with Faith

Join Connie Sokol and Madison Lattin on Born to Lead as they talk with Wendy Osborne, founder of Tabitha’s Way, about the extraordinary journey of stepping into God’s calling. Wendy shares how a divine download led her to leave a career in telecommunications to start a food pantry—and the faith-filled steps, discernment, and servant leadership lessons that followed.

From trusting God in moments of uncertainty, to learning the importance of boundaries, to witnessing everyday miracles, Wendy’s story is a powerful testament to walking with God and leading with love. Whether you’re a leader in your workplace, your community, or your home, this episode is packed with practical wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration to step into your God-given purpose.

Highlights You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• How a scripture-inspired divine download changed the course of Wendy’s life.
• Lessons in discernment and Christ-centered leadership.
• Setting boundaries and leading employees with grace.
• Trusting God in times of growth, challenge, and scarcity.
• Real-life miracles that showed the faithfulness of God in action.
• How to recognize that your identity and value come from God—not your achievements.

@WendyOsborne

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

To introduce Wendy, she is a compassionate community leader and founder of Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry, a nonprofit transforming the fight against food insecurity in Utah County. After leaving a successful telecommunications career, she followed her calling to serve others, opening Tabitha's Way in 2010 and later expanding it to multiple locations across the county. Her leadership and vision have earned her numerous awards, including the Utah County Commissioner's Medal of Honor and Spanish Fork Citizen of the Year. Beyond her nonprofit work, Wendy actively supports local businesses through chamber leadership roles and serves on various civic and faith-based committees. Deeply rooted in her faith and family, Wendy, married for 36 years to her husband Jody, continues to inspire others through her tireless dedication to building stronger, hunger-free communities. Welcome to Born to Lead.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

We're your hosts, Connie Sokel and Madison Latin. And we have the most fabulous guest. If you've seen her before, you're going to get more of her today. It's Wendy Osborne. Thank you so much for being with us.

SPEAKER_03 1:19

Oh, thank you for the invite. I'm so excited. You guys are so gracious and sweet.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

So we just want to jump right in to the first question. Wendy, you weren't even in the food scarcity area. So what led you to this venture?

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Well, um, quite honestly, it was a surprise to me. It wasn't something I didn't grow up planning on running a food pantry or nonprofit. I had, uh, prior to starting Tabitha's Way, was kind of on a spiritual journey. And um, I was reading in the scriptures in the Bible, the book of Acts 9, 36 through 42, is a story of a woman named Tabitha. And so, which is the name of our organization, Tabitha's Way. But the story is about a woman who was providing food and clothing for people in her community. As I was reading and meditating on that scripture, God put on my heart to leave my career in telecommunications and start a food pantry. And so here we are, 15 and a half years later. Amazing.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

And the fact that you got that, what I call divine download, you got that divine download, but then you switched that gear. You did it. Follow up to that question. Were you scared, nervous? Did you have anyone help you, or were you just going free fall faith?

SPEAKER_03 2:28

Yes, to all the above. Yes, to all of the above. Yes, obviously. Um, I would love to say that the first time that God uh whispered in my ear and said to do this, I that I just jumped up and went. The truth is, is I did take about a month, but God is very gracious and pay uh patient with us. He gave me the same message again and again for 30 days straight. So finally I was like, okay, I need to go do this. But yeah, I was I was afraid. And there was, there's um many times where I went to God and I prayed. And I remember asking God, how is this going to work? How am I going to do this? And his reply back, and I have a plaque in my home office that has this on it. He just he promised he would make the way. And so I have a plaque that says, his promise is he will make the way. Every time I got afraid or I was nervous or just just struggling, I would look at that and remember he's faithful to his promises and that he he's making the way. So I could step each day in faith, like just take a step each time and move forward.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

I love that so much because I think sometimes when we feel called to do something, we immediately see all the reasons why we shouldn't or couldn't, can't do it. Like somebody else do that better. And I don't have the skills, I don't have the resources, I don't have the time. Or who am I? Yes. Right. And I love that you just trusted that he gave that to me. So that means he's got a plan. And I just need to show up and take the next right step. I absolutely love that.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

And I agree, just becoming a podcaster in general, that was not the direction I was heading either. But podcast kept coming up in my head like months ago, and it would not stop. And I was like, God, what do you want me to do with this? And he led me to Connie and Born to Leeds. God opens doors for us and he leads us to where we need to be.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

And I think it's great we get to see his hand in it too. Then we can say, okay, it's not all on me. So you're jumping into this, and I'm sure you took some of those skills that you had from your previous job, but I would imagine there are a ton of skills that either you didn't have or you needed to learn. And we talk a lot on this podcast about Christ-centered leadership principles. They have stood the test of time. We know the Bible is still the best-selling book, right? Five to seven billion copies still worldwide. So I'm just wondering, has there been a Christ-centered leadership skill that either you needed to learn or that was a really big help for you that you had and you further developed?

SPEAKER_03 4:52

Certainly. Um, I would say first and foremost would be discernment. My career in telecommunications, I don't think I um really brought God into what I was doing before. I mean, he was there, but I didn't really invite God into helping me make my decisions. That's just the truth. And um, where with this, it required me to really develop that discernment to be hearing him and to follow and listen to situations, like really to stop, take a moment and pray and ask God for what is in the situation that I'm seeing and help me understand it, um, would be, you know, one of the things. And then also just a servant leadership type heart is another thing. Um, where, you know, God is so full of grace and love towards us, and that's how he wants us to project to other individuals. That's how he wants us to treat other people, right? And so in my relationship with God, with his grace and his love towards me, it was very clear that as I became an employer, really recognizing that my role as an employer um was to take to help those individuals become the best persons they could be and help them grow. It wasn't just about me or even our organization that God was helping me build. It was was honoring them as an image bearer of Christ, you know, and saying, hey, you you are God's child. I need to do what's best for you. And so that was completely, you know, new to me, but something that I've I've loved. It's from that love that I can express that to other people. I've I mean I've learned many, many things, but those things are the things that did stick out to me that I know so sweet of God to to grow that in me and help me with that.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

So wow. I love that you're building people, not just a thing, right? And I love that you saw that was that's a stewardship. I just just even doing this podcast. Here's Maddie, who is so gifted and talented. And when we started the podcast, I was all like nervous. And I have been trained in stepping back. And these students, it's a student-led adult mentored and venture, but these students are incredible. They are so satty, they're so gifted and talented. And I love that you have seen that your employees are people that you get to help develop that potential. And that discernment is such a key component of that. I was just reading about discernment and about Christ Center leadership skills, and they were talking about this gift of discernment, doesn't just help you see what's wrong, but it helps you see what's good in people that they can't even see in themselves. And then you have that honor-bound stewardship to be able to build that within them. So they've been super patient with me as I've been learning how to do that. And I think as moms and those that are listening that are older, that they can trust that these students, these young adults, have these skills and abilities and we can trust them. So I love that.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Well, and even from a student mindset, knowing that the adults believe in us, have that full confidence in us is honestly empowering. And we know that we can work together. And I'm sure you working with all of your employees are able to be that light and that example, that leader for them. And I love how you mentioned that Christ-like skills are critical to the field that you're in and in any leadership position. And I'm sure in Tabitha's way, you deal with very sensitive situations where you need these Christ-like skills, such as compassion, boundaries, decisiveness. So, can you give us an experience or a couple experiences where you've had to use these leadership skills?

SPEAKER_03 8:26

Absolutely. I I think um anyone that running a nonprofit probably runs up against this circumstance where you start a nonprofit, you have an area of focus that you're working in, and and very well-intended, good-hearted people see what you're doing and they see other things that can be done and and they make suggestions. And and and it comes from a very beautiful place. I get their their hearts and their intentions. What I experienced when I first started tablets this way, it was a few years in where I was running and trying to do so much. I was trying to do everything and maybe even being a little bit of a people pleaser. Let's just call it out like it is, but um, doing all these things. And I just got to a place of exhaustion. Um, I remember calling my pastor and talking to him. I was sitting out in the parking lot in tears and crying. It's like, I'm just exhausted, I'm spent, I can't do this. He said something to me, he says, Wendy, God did not give you Tabitha's way to destroy you. He said, Go back to what God gave you to do. What was his instructions and follow that. Follow that wholeheartedly, because that's that's where God sent you. So what I had done was I was running off onto different paths. And so learning to set boundaries and understand that God will set you on a path, staying on the that path. And that's not that that path can't change, but let that be God directed versus directed from outside sources, if that makes sense. Setting boundaries was one of the things that really helped me. And I had to learn early on because you can, whether it's in business or a nonprofit, you can very quickly run in a million different directions. And then then we're then we're in a hot mess, sitting out in the parking lot in tears calling your pasture. So don't follow me out like that. So there you go. Boundaries was one of the things that I feel like I needed to learn. That was one of the first things that really helped me.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Well, I think that's really incredible. And I love how you mentioned that God already gave you a plan and that you just needed to follow it. There was a time this last summer where he gave me the plan, but I just kept looking and praying for more and more. And then the thought came to me, I think I was listening to a talk or a devotional that was like, if you feel like you hit a hard point and you're not receiving answers from God, he probably already gave you the answer. You just have to go back. And I was like, no, no, no, no. But then I laughed, I was thinking about it and I was like, oh my goodness, he did tell me how to do this. I just need to go do it.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

I love that.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

And I love that you bring up, you know, this is just the realities. This is the skill building. This isn't like you get the download and then it's A plus B equals C. It's a quadratic equation. And I love your willingness to learn because we are gonna fail, we're gonna make mistakes, we're gonna come up against, like you said, things that we don't know how to do. I'm thinking of the iteration of what you've done. You started with more, I think it was more of the clothing side, and then you went more to the food side. And then there's been this whole iteration. You've had a smaller space, and then you went into a bigger space, and then you did an even bigger space. You've been able to move through all of those. That comes with it so many challenges, this natural evolution of a thing, the thing that you were doing. Can you share a time when you had a challenge that you just thought, I don't know how to do this? You're up against the Red Sea and you're like, I don't see a third way. I don't know how to do it.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

That happens almost every day. So, but but yeah, I I can tell you to be completely transparent. You're right, Connie. Our organization has grown exponentially. Matter of fact, our rate of increase has been 30% increase year over year for the last three years in the number of families we're needing food assistance. So massive increases. And then this year we're already midway through the year, we hit 33% and we anticipate it potentially even hitting a 50% growth rate this year, possibly. Which is which is really hard, right? That's that's a lot. What organization or business can grow 50% in a year and not feel or experience some some pains and some angst and anxiety? Last year was um was a very difficult year for me. If I if you were to ask me, I would sum up last year, the word for my year for a long time was insufficient. I felt completely insufficient last year. Um, it was really difficult. There was just so much growth and so much need that our organization had. I just constantly felt like I was falling short. It was this battle, the whole year long, mental, emotional, and spiritual battle that I was going through. At the end of the year, I actually uh at church, one of our pastors had started off the year saying, meditate and pray, go to scripture and ask God to give you a word for this year, meaning just what is a word for this year? And as I thought about that, I sat down as I went to scripture and I recognized not only what my year was for this year coming up, but I had to spend time in camping in what was my year word last year and why was it? Why did I feel that way? And and where I came out on was I had spent a lot of my time last year focusing on my limitations and not remembering to focus on God. And I had to, you know, through scripture, God showed me that you took your eyes off me. It was like Peter walking out on water, and suddenly you sink, and then Jesus pulls you up and you remember. Last year was very hard for me because just so many different things. And um, this year has been a wonderful year because I've been able to remember I need to keep my eyes on Jesus. I need to keep my eye on God and what he has done and know fully and faithfully that he will do what needs to be done. There's up and downs or seasons, but that was my year last year.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

That's exactly what I was gonna say. And that is an inevitable part. It's not that you're doing something necessarily wrong, like, oh, I'm doing this wrong process. That's part of the process for everyone. And it's that learning like, when am I gonna see this with eyes to see? And I love how you said you took your eyes off me. That's just so beautifully done. We all do that. Can you think of an actual experience that you came up against where you were able to see that, okay, I need to read, I need to do this differently, and you were able to do it differently.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

I had a an employee that was really just struggling with a lot of um just issues that and it was painful to watch. And and I I kept trying to do what I could to support this particular employee. Unfortunately, that in a in a an environment where you have multiple employees, when you we when you have a team, if you have one person that's really struggling, sometimes that can affect the rest of the team in very negative and difficult ways. And so sometimes you get to a point. Um, I I remember praying about this individual. I've been six months of trying to get things to improve and it just wasn't getting better. And as I sat down and I prayed, I went to God and he really showed me that this particular individual was really stuck. I saw a square peg being pounded into a round hole. It just wasn't working. And really, um, God showed me that it was best for me to let this employee go for their sake. And I I was holding on to them, trying to thinking I was helping them by holding on to them when really God was asking me to let go. But sometimes you have to do these hard things and ultimately just release it and give it, give it to God and trust that that's you know what we needed to do. I was looking through my eyes for six months of what can I do? What do I need to do, instead of just really letting you know God lead, lead things out, lead out. And it wasn't the direction you think, it wasn't the rosy answer, but it was the right answer. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

You bring up a very powerful and beautiful point that sometimes as leaders, we may think it's all on me. I have to figure out how to work this situation, but we really should be part partnering with God. And so have you come across any miracles, the miracles that were coming that you couldn't do yourself, but that was from God.

SPEAKER_03 16:24

Oh, absolutely. Uh there's millions. God is so faithful. But um, I will tell you one of the ones that's most tender to my heart. When I first started Tabitha's Way, like I mentioned, I quit my my job to start Tabitha's Way. Um, I had accepted that I, you know, would ask my family to go without my income. But I needed a place to rent to where I could provide a place, a space where I could provide free food for for people. So we had um a little building with a thrift store in it, and we would sell clothing to help pay for the rent of the building. That was a purpose for having the little clothing store. Our very first month that came to just the day before our rent was due. And I think if I remember right, the rent was like $300. It was a small amount, but $300 of rent. Um, the whole day I I was hoping and praying I would have enough to make our first month's rent. Came to the end of the day, and I was exactly $100 short. I I remember the sinking feeling of this pit in my stomach. I have rent due tomorrow. I can't be late on my first month's rent. This is just terrible. What am I gonna do? And then I stopped and like, well, I'm gonna pray. And so I I stopped and I prayed and I said, God, I I have to pay rent tomorrow and I'm a hundred dollars short. Please help me. I don't know what to do. I I I was there the whole day trying to raise enough money to pay rent, and it just, I was still short. And I just I just asked God for help. And then I I said amen. I was sitting by myself in in her little pantry thrift store. And um, as soon as I said amen, it was literally like five seconds later, my phone rings. And on the other end of the line was a woman who said, Hey, I I saw you at the city council meeting announcing your food pantry. I think what you're doing's great. I I just want to welcome you to the community. I have a hundred dollars that I want to donate. Can I go buy something for you? And I I paused um because at first I was like, I wasn't sure how to ask her for help, um, but I knew what I needed the money for. So I um I paused for a moment and then I just I told her, I said, I I said I might be very honest with you. I just got done praying. I was like, I'm I'm a hundred dollars short for rent for a food pantry. Is there any way you would consider donating a hundred dollars to help to rent? And she said, I'll be right down. And um, it was just such a sweet, wonderful moment. And um, that $100 was just the world to me. And again, another way for me to see God just making the way, right? He would make the way. And he's done that so many times, so many times, again and again. And I'm just honored and blessed to see how God moves and to be a part of it, to witness it is just such a joy in my life.

SPEAKER_02 19:07

I love that you bring up it's that faith step, right? That Indiana Jones faith step where it all is lost and you have no other option. And I love that your thought was I need to pray. I need to pray. Not just the one time, but you're praying throughout the day and you're showing up, you're doing whatever you can. There's a talk by Dallas Jenkins, he's the one that's the creator of the chosen, and he went to Brigham University and he did a devotional called Five Loaves and Two Fishes, and it's phenomenal. But he talks about this very thing of so many times when in this process of doing the chosen, he came with his loaves and fishes, and it was maybe one loaf and a half of fish, and that's all they had. And then they got the next thing to go to the next thing. It wasn't like, you know, the cruise of oil when you think about it in the Old Testament. I it wasn't, she had to go every day to see if that was in. I I don't understand from scripture that it was this big barrel all of a sudden full. She was having to go and she got what she needed for the next step. And I look at that and I think it's growing a person. God could take care of everything, right? But he is growing us in the process. I love that you kept taking the faith steps to make it better and bigger, and then bringing in more people and now more hands and more loaves and more fishes can now help with the process. Absolutely beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

It's that it's a line upon line. He wants to grow us. He has faith in you, Wendy, and he did during that moment where you felt like all was lost. That how are you supposed to get the $100? But he had it prepared, and he always has it prepared. All of our trials are really our blessings, and they're just meant to make us better and to grow.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

I love that. Like it's like manna, like right? The manna, every single day you had to go out. And and you're right, God could have just given us a whole storehouse for a year, but he didn't do that. He does it day by day so that we we learn his faithfulness. I think that's that's part of it. We learn the character of God and his faithfulness, his steadfast love for us in the manna of every day. That's what he does for us because we're forgetful. So God reminding me every day is a really a huge thing, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:16

It's I was talking with a friend the other day and we're talking about being riveted on Christ. And I'm like, I think I'm riveted. And then before I know it, I'm making a grocery list. Or I'm like, do I need to put the rolls in for dinner? You know, like you think that you're focused and you're on, and you need, like you said, that daily reminder. And I love the fact that with the manna, they had to go gather, they had a buy-in, they had to do something, and you're really good about that with Tabitha's Way. You involve people, I know my son and I have gone down, my family and I have gone down and volunteered, and we love that. As you've done this, is there one thing that stands out that you didn't know before that you have learned from doing Tabitha's Way? Something you've learned for yourself, for others, but just something God has taught you that you're like, I know that to my soul now, and I didn't know it before, or know it in this way.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

Before I started Tabitha this way, God took me through this process of letting go of things. Letting go of my job was one of the many things He had me let go of. And what I didn't know at the time that I know now is my identity used to be in my career, what I could achieve, or the clothes I wore, or whatever, you know, the money I could earn, the car I drove, all of these different things. And I know now my identity is in God and his love for me. It's not those things. And again, I didn't know it at the time when he had me let go, but now I see how I thought those things gave me value. My value is not in those things. I'm forever grateful to God for that. Tabitha's way is wonderful. I'm grateful that God has called me to do that, to do Tabasas, but even Tabash's way, this nonprofit, isn't my identity. I'm his child. So there will come a day where God will ask me to step down from Tabasas and I will still be as loved and valued and his regardless. And that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Uh the phrase that comes to me when you say this is our identity is not found in the things of the world, but in the things of God. And I think that is absolutely beautiful. And Wendy, wrapping up, we want to ask you a final question that we ask all of our guests at the end of each podcast episode. Born to lead, we teach that everybody is born to lead. So, Wendy, how were you able to know? How did you come to find that you are born to lead?

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Um, well, uh it's scriptural, right? If you read Ephesians 2, 10, it it says that. It says that, you know, we are all created where God's handiwork, right? And created for a good purpose. And so it's that walking, it's that God holding my hand day by day and walking with me and teaching me um and reminding me, you know, and that I have a purpose. All of us are born to lead, all of us have a good purpose, and we just need to hold, hold on to God's hand and walk with him each day to realize that it's just it's such a wonderful experience to walk with God and and have him show you your purpose. When I I I was looking, I was thinking about this um a few months ago about when was the first time that food security was a passion for me. And I had to look back in 1984, there was a song um uh called Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid. You were you're it's way before you.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Five weeks ago, my son now, my 13-year-old is like, this is a great song. I'm like, yeah, it's from my day.

SPEAKER_03 24:36

Yeah, it is. It's a great song. And uh it's one of my favorite Christmas songs, even I remember hearing that song the very first time, and it just it uh it it hit a it struck a chord within my heart, within my soul, my very soul. And and that was a seed I think that God had planted back in 1984, even though I wouldn't be doing a food pantry till, you know, in the 2000s. But just I can look back over my life and see how God has led me to this and to be a leader in this area. And everyone has a spot in their own area of where God is calling you to. And it's so wonderful to walk with God. And I believe God will lead you to that area. I think we tell ourselves, who are who am I, or I don't have the skills or the ability to do that. And I think that's the world saying those things. That's our enemy saying those things, and maybe a little bit ourselves, but that's not what God says.

SPEAKER_02 25:23

No, and I love that. And I love this. We got to get a glimpse of that process of when you got the divine download, and then he breadcrumbed, you know, the path. And that as he gave you that manna, every day you picked up this piece and this piece, and then look at who you've become. And look at what you've created, and then look at what the people who are part of it have become. And that is his way. It's it's that abundance, it's that multiply goodness. It's not just the end outcome, which is important in itself, but it is the process and then who we bring along. And that's that's what makes it meaningful. That's when we look back on our lives, we're like, it's so rich and abundant because I have these wonderful people that we've been involved in this shared purpose together. It's so beautiful. I want to share really quickly a couple of things that you said that are just keepers. These are Wendy keepers. Go back to what God showed you, go back to what God gave you. Develop the potential of others as God sees them. You took your eyes off me. And I'm sorry, my eyes are tearing, so I can't hardly read my own writing. Rosie wasn't the answer. So, anyway, I will by next time figure out my cryptic writing and what I actually said, but it was powerful. But we just want to say, I know people are gonna want more of you. What is the best way for them to reach you and how can they volunteer at Tapitha's Way?

SPEAKER_03 26:36

Well, volunteering is very simple, and also reaching me. You can just go to our website, which is tabitha's way.org, and you can find all about our mission, our purpose, and ways that you can help. Or if you need help, you're welcome to hop on and see how you we can we can help serve you. We'll we'll be honored and blessed to do it.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

So and it's so good. We've gone down things. My 13-year-old loves to go down there. He does the cleaning off the cart, the sign at the front. He's like, Can we go back? It's so good. And I figured it out. It said it wasn't the rosy answer, but it was the right answer. That's a keeper.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

Yes. Thank you so much. And until next time, knowing that you are born to lead, how will you live as leaders for him?