The last few weeks I’ve grown attached to a random assortment of women through my church’s home Bible study program. In our group there are 3 grandmas, a couple of 40-somethings, me (a 30-something), and 2 20-somethings. We come from all walks of life: working mom, stay-at-home moms, working 2 jobs, kids/no kids, married, and single.
When you belong to a megachurch of 9,000 attendees, being a part of a Bible study is really the only practical way to make connections and build relationships with women who share your religious interests.
At our first meeting, we learned that we were all of different ages, life stages, and all strangers. As we took turns introducing ourselves, we also shared our reasons for joining the group. My main reason was that I needed a group that met on Mondays, and there were only 3 available: One for college-aged singles, one for couples, and then there was this group. But for each woman, what it basically boiled down to was that we wanted to build relationships with other women of our church. And in the end, that’s exactly what happened. Even with this crazy mishmash of ladies.
We met for 16 weeks and as the weeks went on we grew to trust each other more and more. We looked forward to seeing each other because we liked each other, not just because we had to discuss the assigned homework. One lady heard that I use apartment washing machines and she started bringing me quarters every week to use for laundry. Another lady revealed offhandedly once that she was vegan. After that, someone always made sure there was a vegan refreshment for her, even though she hadn’t made any sort of fuss over needing special consideration because of her diet.
Until now I hadn’t realized how much I would miss seeing my ladies every week. Our group is scheduled to start up again in mid January. That seems like so long to have to wait until I can see my friends again! I’m so thankful to have met them.
Women are a special kind of human. We are kind, gentle, nurturing, and loving. We support one another, encourage one another, and listen as our friends share their sorrows. It’s no wonder men like having us around!
Isn’t it interesting how you can make friends when you weren’t expecting to? Do you have a group of women friends that you look forward to seeing?