The Gospel of Girlfriends

Remember when I told you my idea of having guests bloggers in 2011? Well, here it is the first of 12...read and be blessed!

 I am blessed to know some incredible women. Women who give me reason to pause and think about something besides me, myself, and I!  I am a member of a bible study at my church.  The "title" of our group is J.O.Y. Which stands for Jesus...Others...Yourself. I believe and know it to be true that my relationship with Christ and others flourishes when I get myself out of the way. So every month while I entertain and hopefully encourage you in my blogposts I am going to make it a priority to "get out of the way" and let some wonderful women spread their special brand of JOY. 

I asked my friend Sharon to be my first guest blogger for a variety of reasons.  I gave her very little direction because I knew it wouldn't be necessary.  She would pray and get direction and we would all be blessed.  I met Sharon when I worked at Holy Nativity Episcopal School.  She is beautiful and fun to be with  but that's not what draws you in.   After being around her for a very short time you want to ask "Sharon what is your secret?" ...Here it is!

The Gospel of Girlfriends

I am so excited and privileged to be a guest blogger for Kim Dodd’s wonderful blog. I have to confess that I am not a blogger at all and have never even been able to discipline myself to journal for more than four or five days in a row though I have always wanted to do that for my children. I am not a writer and told Kim she would get to do a great editing job for me. Her request was very open ended which is so scary for me because my mind can’t settle on one subject and it will tend to ramble if I don’t watch it carefully, but I am going to give this a shot and hope that you all will reap some little grain of joy or hope or just the feeling that you are not alone with the craziness of your world!

I titled this The Gospel of Girlfriends because I have prayed and asked the Lord to speak through me about a few of the most important milestones in my life and they have all involved girlfriends. I am beyond thankful for every girlfriend He has given me. The first girlfriend he brought to mind was my best friend in the 5th grade. Her name was Sandra and she was the kind of friend that could make me laugh until I wet my panties! We did a lot of laughing and pretending. She was the person who told me that I had a very big decision to make. Because I loved her so I listened carefully. She explained to me in a way that only a fifth grader can do that she knew that I loved God, but that I needed to ask Him to come in to my heart and make Him my best friend. I grew up in the Baptist Church and the thought of walking down that isle and making my love for Christ public was very scary to say the least. Sandra knew that and sat with me that Sunday and bravely walked down that long isle with me. I knew that my life was forever changed from that day forward. We still giggled in church and got in much trouble, but from that time to this day so many years later, He is with me still. That most important decision and milestone was sparked by the love of a girlfriend and for that I am truly thankful.

Many years later after a divorce and years of heartache and sorrow a precious girlfriend invited me and my daughter Lauren to go with her and her daughter to hear a lady speak at a Christian women’s gathering. I have to confess this was one of if not THE lowest point in my life. I was in the middle of major difficulty with my teenagers and suffering from a broken heart on a daily basis. When the day came to go I absolutely wanted to call her and tell her I did not have the time or the energy to go and had she not told me that we really needed to do this for our “daughters” I would have found a way out of it. I don’t even remember the lady who spoke, but I will tell you that the Lord sent her there for me that night. I also don’t remember a word that she said. I just know that He began a healing process in my life that put my broken heart and spirit back on the right track in a way that I unfortunately don’t have the space to explain. That night I promised Him that I would be back in bible study and have my children back in church on a regular basis. Thank you Lord for my girlfriend Donna.

My girlfriend Dietra who facilitated several of the Beth Moore bible studies that I took, asked if she could sponsor me on an Emmaus Walk. I am Baptist and that is a Methodist thing, but I knew a spiritual retreat surely couldn’t hurt me! What a life changing experience that was! Four days of intense soul searching and time spent with the Lord. I had been a Christian for a long time at this point, but for the first time truly came to know and understand that Jesus was more than just someone to whom I ran when my life or someone else’s was falling apart, or to help me make some big decision, or to bring forgiveness that I so often need. He is with me always, in every step and turn of every day. I learned to “look” for Him in all things and low and behold I found Him!!! What a joy it has been to know that He truly is my best friend and He wants to spend time with me and walk with me through whatever comes my way. I can honestly say that the knowledge that nothing comes in to my life that He does not have a purpose for and wants to use to grow me, has brought more spiritual maturity to my life than I can tell you.

The other milestone I want to share with you that has changed my life has been realizing that “it’s not about me”. I can’t pin point a girlfriend that brought this knowledge to me. This one came through the “school of hard knocks” as my dad would have said. However, the Lord has given me the opportunity to share this knowledge with other girlfriends in ways that have saved marriages, relationships, and a lot of heartache. It took a long time for me to understand and confess that if I took the time to think about the things in my life that upset me most and caused broken relationships, I would realize that I was upset because of the effect that this person or situation had on ME. When I began to be able to get “self” out of the way I began to become the girlfriend, wife and mother that God has called me to be. I have to tell you that growing up in the “ME” generation with the strong influence of the Women’s Lib movement has not made that an easy process. The process has been necessary none the less.

So here’s to girlfriends. Cherish those whom God has given you. Encourage one another. Get in the word together. Kim and I had the joy of doing Beth Moore bible studies together with another precious friend and God brought us through a lot together. We are here for each other. You and I are to be Jesus in this sometimes cold and difficult world. I have seen Him turn my ashes into beauty. To God is the glory. I want to leave you with a few verses that have summed up my life. Jeremiah 29:11 which we love to hear…For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Awesome to know and I love the verses that follow…12-14...Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. God bless you girlfriends, He will bring you back if you seek him with all of your heart!    Sharon

From Left: Denise, Me, Sharon, Jenny, Amy, and Ena...all sharing afternoon tea complete with hats and gloves at Magnolia and Ivy's in Baytowne Wharf.  We had just come from Jenny's baptism at Sharon's church...(notice how Jenny is beaming)!