I had learned how to walk again after childhood polio, but in 1993 my muscles began to weaken and one too many dangerous falls ended with a diagnosis of post polio syndrome, a second back surgery, and a Rx for an electric wheelchair. Wheelchairs, either manual or electric, don’t fit through bathroom doors in most homes, including mine. The doctors did their job again fixing my broken body, but now how would I fix the inaccessible bathroom issue in my house?
My guess is that, like me, you have some GOLD friends. You know, the ones who have known you a very long time, who have seen your good days, your bad days… and love you anyway! Oh, you are BLESSED by God if you have any deep friendships like that! When I was younger, I learned a little tune that went, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.”
We are a community of women where we live, work, and play together. Our community is women coming together under one roof. GOD is our protector. He protects us in all facets of life. As we go through tribulations, deaths, and our travels in this fallen world, God is our refuge and safe haven. We “be” that place where you feel wanted and needed. We love the idea of praying together, asking God to illuminate to us what he wants us to be and to convict our hearts to be better women in Christ.
As far back as I can remember, I admired people who prayed. Prayer has always represented a faith and belief in the power of God that I’ve wanted to see in my own life.
For the past two years, I’ve led a small group with my husband called “The Group That is Small.” It’s been a self-fulfilling prophecy of who we’ve become, as we are down to a group of six faithful members after others have moved away geographically. However, we are looking to grow. Realizing there must be a better name for who we are that could also include where we are wanting to grow, I began reflecting on who we are and what we do well.
I still remember sitting in the upper section of what was then called the Ford Center. It was June 2003. The concert was packed, people were smoking weed around me, and I had a great time. A few weeks later, I went back to the Ford Center for a Billy Graham Crusade and just happened to sit in the same section as the concert a few weeks back. I was in a very public arena, yet I could feel the tangible presence of God. I could not tell you any of the points to his sermon, however I vividly remember the stark difference of the two events because of the light that Billy Graham was sharing.
On my birthday in July, my sweet husband brought me coffee in bed. That had been one of my requests, to have coffee in bed and sit together for the morning. Not long after taking my first couple of sips, my husband left for work and one of our twins started crying. I grabbed my coffee and began the process of changing my son and getting him fed. Then, I repeated the process for my daughter. As I fed them, I thought, “This is what my birthday is going to look like from here on out.”
I like a predictable life. I like normal routines and schedules. It sets my mind at ease to know what is happening day in and day out. But what happens when God starts pressing in on your heart to step out in faith and do something new? Something unpredictable? Something you never would have imagined yourself doing in a million years? I can tell you from experience that it rocks your world, but it is such a blessing.
Women and Church. That particular string of words may conjure strong opinions. If not in yourself, definitely in others. If your opinion is determined in part by what is seen in media, culture, dax, it has likely been shaped by loud, perhaps even extreme, voices which may not always represent the majority.
