I had been uprooted from my beloved friends, and with 3 weeks notice we suddenly found ourselves in Northern Va. I had a 5 month old, and had gone from full-time, hiring, firing, manager-training authority at a training development company with an husband who happily worked at home with the cat... to full-time Mom in a town I didn't know, no church community, no friends nearby, introvert-husband working in an office (for the first time ever and being *totally* drained) for 16 hour days (no joke). Scotty and I both look back at this time as one of the toughest in our marriage.
As I've said to many before, the Bible study offered child care. At this point in my life they could have probably been holding cockroach races, and if they offered childcare and other women there - I would have GONE! (Please Lord, let there be women there to talk to. And if they could not be too psycho, that would be great.)
So, I signed up. And just to make things more interesting, two days before the study met for the first time terrorists flew an airplane into the Pentagon, which was exactly one mile up the road I viewed from my baby's window. So now we had intimidating gun-mounted humvees along the roads and no idea what would happen next.
So we all showed up to the first study - I believe it was 2 Peter - babies in tow. And I met some of the most wonderful women. We delved deep into the Bible and always were determined to understand what the FULL counsel of scripture said. We asked hard questions, and didn't accept the pat answers. We disagreed. Strongly at times. But we kept coming back, laughing (sometimes to the point of tears), crying and always sharing life and a passionate pursuit.
And for the last 12 years, through babies, moves, globe trotting, spiritual highs and lows, a few of us from that group have encouraged, pushed, questioned, and sharpened each other. I only wish we could do it in person more often.
My encouragement to anyone out there who has actually made it this far reading this rambling... Dive into the Word of God. And do it with people who will question your assumptions, who push you to explain your reasoning, and ask 'so what are you doing about it in your life?' If they can love you, laugh with you and cry with you at the same time - don't let them go. Don't accept "But they moved to Africa!" as an excuse to lose touch, though I grant that it makes it a bit tougher.
I would NOT have chosen the events that let up to me walking into the class the first time. Personally, or for our country. But I wouldn't change meeting all of you, and what it has done for my life, for anything.
