WOMAN TO WOMAN – HEART TO HEART
It started as an idea that blossomed into a blessing.
The women are in my church, a modest white-steepled church in a sleepy little town located in rural California. We are a group of unpretentious women, ordinary women, many elderly. We drive to church from Chico, Red Bluff, Corning, Los Molinos, Orland, and Kirkwood, and a few live in the town of Vina. Our backgrounds vary, even our church roots are a cross pollination. Yet, we have one thing in common. We have the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. Few have walked this spiritual walk without trial and tribulation, in fact troubles are the common experience. There are those who have crawled out of the cesspool of life. Others have lived its opposite, the better side. And some are just starting the journey, seeking to figure out how to follow the map on this walk of faith. The mature in faith have deep roots that tap into the Energy Source.
That’s where the need for connecting woman to woman comes in.
We all have something to say, something to give, a word that will encourage, help, and teach. As their leader, I chose a new path this year, one not yet defined or developed. One, I knew, that was needed. It was my desire to open a door that would let the light in to dispel darkness in places hidden, covered up, or unknown. I chose a book and I chose a scripture passage, and then we began our weekly study. It was a bit awkward for me. I expected some resistance, some complaining because of the subject matter. The topic was unhealed hurts and the need to be real in Christ, the need to be genuine. I was wrong. There was no resistance. Everyone was on board right from the start.
One woman is looking deep within her soul; her wounds deep and bleeding.
The ladies are reaching out to her. Some are praying. We all sense that this isn’t so much about us as it about the one who needs our support. Yet, we all need that same source of healing, the joy of shared friendship, and the bond of grace that unites us as one. It is an opportunity to provide a safe haven for a wounded heart. We give out of what God has given to us, the many lessons learned from out of our own painful experiences. This young mother opens up to us, her honesty is a “rubber meets the road” gut transparency. Her tears begin to flow, her voice quivers as she opens up with a measure of trust and with faith in us.
A question was given. She answered. The room fell silent, her honesty had cut through the topic and begged for truth to answer its plea. I knew that it was a critical moment, one that couldn’t be soft-pedaled or given a ready, trite answer. She needed something from us to soften the heartache and to give her hope, that, indeed, God is enough and he IS there for her. Some of the women spoke up. They assured her that God would be with her and help her. True. Some said that she had been on their hearts and they’d been praying for her during the week. She felt their prayers.It had helped. But it was not going well. There was a battle being waged and she almost hadn’t come. It was God who nudged her to join us. I found myself speaking after the others.
“Many, many women have felt as you feel. You are not alone. Let me share with you how it works for me when I am in the hard spots and I don’t think I’m going to make it. What I do to get help from God.”
I talked about God, and how he works, about ways I seek out God when life gets too hard. I also talked about the enemy of our faith, and how he opposes our steps toward a meaningful relationship with God. The ladies promised to pray for her every day in the week ahead. She thanked us. I know she will be okay, at least I believe so. A caring community of women has sprouted and is growing. The older are leading the younger. Love is being shared. A harvest will come. God is tilling the soil in preparation for the work he is going to do and is doing. We are privileged to be a part of a synergistic form of spiritual energy.
The story is just beginning.
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