Our homeowner’s association has a neighborhood internet café. Since the subdivision is only about 3 ½ years old, most of the messages have been asking for names of sitters, reporting lost dogs, or complaining about the poor reception with Sprint phone service. Early in January, some guy wanted to know if anyone was interested in a poker night. That made me wonder…would anyone be interested in a women’s Bible study…and could I use the café to find out? PokerMan inspired me to try!
There are about 180 homes in our development. So if even 2 or 3 other women wanted to join me, I thought that would be a pretty good response. I had already asked Sara Snyder about the possibility of sharing the Beth Moore DVD series she was using in Ladies Bible class, and she was all over that idea. After much prayer about what to say, and what not to say, I sent out this message:
SUBJECT: Women’s Bible Study
“Would any of you be interested in a Women’s Bible study? I teach preschool in the mornings, but I could host something on a weekday afternoon or evening. I have access to Beth Moore’s “Believing God” and “Breaking Free” video series. You will need to make your own childcare arrangements for about an hour and a half. Let me know what day/time is best for you. Friends are welcome!”
And then I clicked SEND.
As I stared at the screen it occurred to me that I needed other people to be praying with me, so I sent out a quick message to some friends who I knew would honor that request.
And then I clicked SEND.
This time there was something in my INBOX. It was from Karen who said, “I would be interested in something on the weekday evenings, as long as it was after 7 or 7:30. The best days for me are Tuesday or Wednesday evenings, with Wednesdays being the better of the two. I have a friend in Florida who is reading Beth Moore’s books and she loves them, so I am intrigued.”
By Sunday evening 12 women had responded. I was shocked.
One of them traveled during the week, but she just wanted to cheer us on. Nearly all of them requested Wednesday nights. That surprised me, because in my mind if anyone wanted to find a Wednesday night Bible study, all they had to do was drive to a church with cars in the parking lot. It also caught me off guard, because I was helping in the two year old class on Wednesday nights, and hadn’t planned on leaving in the middle of the year. I was reassured by the John and Houston that if God was bringing these women to my house for this purpose, then He would provide my replacement at RE.
Uh huh.
(And exactly where is that long list of people who have volunteered to teach the two year old class on Wednesday nights? What will they ever do without me? What will their parents think?) I’m not proud of those reactions. Shocked at the 12 responses. Doubtful that they could find more teachers for the two year old class. Embarrassed that I was leaving in the middle of the year. “Hello! I’m a faithless quitter and I will be leading your Bible study for the next 11 weeks.” What was God thinking?
Maybe He was thinking that there were women new to the area without a church home who longed to find a group of believers. Maybe He thought there were neighbors desperate to form meaningful friendships. He might have been thinking I needed to be reminded that it’s not about me, because Lynn had 4 women lined up to cover the children’s class transition before I could write her an apology.
Oh.
I later discovered that only about one fourth of the homes in our subdivision subscribe to the internet café. Instead of 12 responses out of 180 homes, it’s more like 12 out of 45. I sent out one message, one time. No fliers on the doors or signs in the yard. And on January 25, it was like “Guess Who’s Coming to Bible Study?” Each time I opened the door there was a new face with a big smile. I only knew one of the women before that night. It has been one of the sweetest blessings of my life.
In a way, I feel like God moved his cosmic mouse over my heart, checked to see if I was willing, rolled His eyes when He thought about my pitiful reaction and smiled anyway.
And then He clicked SEND.
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5 comments:
Carolyn,
Thanks for blessing us all by your example of being faithful to God's call. I look forward to hearing more exciting things about your Guess Whose Coming To Bible Study night. We miss you with us on Wednesday nights, but are thrilled with the prospects of what God is doing in your living room while we are at Wendy's. Way to go Girlfriend!
Hey!
What an awesome deal! I am proud of you for steppin out and being Jesus. I preached on Sunday about being effective in our communities and you are definately doing that. What an awesome post, and what an even cooler bible study. My only concern I have with all of this ... please don't show any naked baby pictures!!!!
I love you,
M@
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