This Special Group of Women

I want to tell you about this wonderful group of women that meets together every Monday night for Bible Study. They are powerful prayer warriors. God uses these women mightily in His service.

These ladies are a mixed group. We have everyone from very young wives and new mothers to grandmothers. We have high school and college students participate. We have people who have been members of the church all their lives and some who are just starting their journey. Ladies from other nations and states have all chosen to meet on Monday night. Our "problems" are universal - marriage problems, problems with our kids, aging parents, illness, job loss, death - you name it and this group has experienced it. One thing we always promise to each other is this - what is said in our Bible Study room stays in the room. It's a safe place to come and talk about your most secret needs, desires, concerns, fears. You can confess anything to this group and no one is ever judged. Love is the healer! We will pray and pray and pray for God to meet our needs. While waiting for God, we encourage, support, and love each other. We open ourselves on those Monday nights to God and what he wants to accomplish during our time together. Many times, our leader has set aside the lesson because someone in our group had a need, and God wanted to use us to help.

I can't share with you any of their stories. (We have this promise, remember!) And God has done some powerful and miraculous things. But I can share my story about how God used these women to save my life.

My wonderful friends prayed for me off and on for about a year. I had been slowly withdrawing from everyone. It was such a struggle for me to go to Bible Study that I finally just quit. And that was so hard for me. This group had been with me during my mother's illness and death, during the financial struggles of her funeral, etc. As I began to withdraw, they began praying for me. I'm going to say for at least 5 months, these ladies prayed and talked about me. During these 5 months, these ladies continued to send me encouragement, they'd call me and let me know how much I was missed, they offered to help in anyway they could. They were praying for me and loving me every day. It's really a humbling thing to know that sooooo many people care about you and are concerned about you. I'm fortunate enough to have a couple of groups like this in my life. I'll tell you about the others on another day.

One day at Bible Study, they were going over prayer requests and I was mentioned again. One of the ladies asked, What are we going to do about Landa? They had been praying and praying but didn't know what to do. That was the catalyst that started my journey. It's as if God said, okay, let's do it. The time is now!

A couple of these ladies went to Jim and asked if he would approach me about the lapband. One of them had done research, had found a place, etc. Jim and I talked, mostly through email. We talked about a lot of my "fears" so that we could get rid of any excuses I still had. And then God laid out the plan.

Last night, I went to study for the first time in at least 6 months. It was wonderful. Every lady, even the ones that had joined the group after I dropped out, were glad to see me. I got hugs and kisses, encouragement, fellowship - it was wonderful! I missed my ladies and was so glad to be reunited with them. I've "rejoined" a part of my life! And it is amazing!

I want to encourage you women reading this to find a group of women you can pour out your heart to. A group that will cry with you, laugh with you, celebrate with you, work with you, worship with you, pray with you. A group that accepts you no matter - worts and all. And then when you do, thank our God every day for this wonderful blessing. It is life changing!