AWARE - encourage each other

As I step into the cafe at the church a sense of relief settles over me, I smell coffee, I see a smiling Connie bustling about getting the snacks all pretty, and say hi to a gal I'm finally getting brave enough to get to know and settle down in a chair.  I relax, feeling good that I actually made it in a decent time, barely, but more happy that getting my three little ones fed, dressed and in the car actually went smooth, no tears from anyone involved and we worked together as a family.  Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing trying to cram one more activity into my busy schedule, life is busy, the kids sometimes wear jammies out the door, I have food on my clothes, there are lots of time outs, we have homeschool, Awana, church, hubby, meals, don't get me started on the laundry, and taking two hours to sit around with other women might not be the best way to spend my morning.  Plus, sometimes I don't even have my homework done, sometimes more often than not and I do try to convince myself that it's ok, but I still feel guilty. I think if I'm going to commit to a Bible study, I need to COMMIT, right? The thing is, that this is no Bible study.  Sure we study the Bible, but we are her to grow together in the Bible in our lives, it's a growth group.  And how am I supposed to grow if I am already perfect or at least think I should be? 

So as I sit sipping on my coffee, the gals trickle in one by one, I watch the gals hug, see some new faces, see some faces that come every week, some that can only come once in a while, the noise in the room gets louder and there is a lot catching up what we all did during the last week.  Connie opens up in a word of prayer and shares from Hebrews 10...²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."  Jennie shares some hesitations on the book we're reading through and encouragement her husband gave to keep on coming to Tuesday morning, I nod my head in agreement, knowing I had the same conversation with my husband and here I sit with a room of women.  These women I see sometimes at a store or coffee shop or church, we come together to be with each other, to connect during our crazy weeks, to know we're here to spur each other on no matter where we have come from and where we are going.  And when I hear those verses, I know that these Tuesday mornings are not a waste, right now meeting with these women are what I need to do, not only for myself, but knowing that me being here encourages others, it's not just about me.

So here I sit in the room with all these women.  Women who have grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, babies, married, divorced, single, teachers, students, and despite all our differences we find a moment in life to listen and share with each other parts of our lives, stuff that is hard to deal with, stuff that makes us laugh, and you know, that fills me up.