I've never been overly girly. In the sixth grade, I politely asked if I could have my school picture taken in front of the boy background of footballs and basketballs rather than the girl one, which was covered in pom poms and megaphones. It should not have come as a surprise then, that, during my sophomore year in college, when confronted with the choice to join a Bible study called "Lady in Waiting" or one entitled "Arizona High Adventure," I went with AHA. I believe what I told my roommate was: "I don't want to be in a room full of girls bemoaning their lack of a boyfriend while waiting for their husband." (I'm sorry to all the girls in that Bible study. I'm sure you were nice.) The irony of ironies is that I didn't camp or hike, which were the main activities of the Arizona High Adventure Bible study, and the leader of said camping and hiking Bible study was a dashing and unknown to me senior named Aaron Henry. So, the moral of that story, girls, is don't talk about waiting for your husband, when you can go out and find yourself one! Ok, not really....well, maybe... The point is, I've never really felt comfortable in a pack of girls. They make me nervous.
I love Bible studies. Love them. I haven't, for obvious reasons, loved ladies' Bible studies. When we moved to Florida, I joined a Tuesday morning Bible study as a way of meeting friends, despite my misgivings. Oddly enough this Bible study was attended wholly by women. Lots and lots of women. At first it was a little awkward; new relationships always are, whether its an individual or a group, but then, I got to know them and they me. Fast forward 8 years, and my Tuesday morning gaggle of women has become so incredibly important to my spiritual well being that its almost ridiculous. We are a diverse lot: some retired, some young moms like me, some well seasoned saints, others just taking their first steps in the faith, but all of us there because we love Scripture. It is a beautiful thing. God has used these women to challenge me, to support me, to encourage me, and to teach me in ways that no other group has done.
I hear so many women talking about how they would love to be a part of group of women who could love on them and who they could love in return and, yet, why do so few us take the time to be a part of a weekly Bible study? Some of it comes down to time. I get that. Time is so very precious and easily gobbled up. Perhaps it's the amount of homework (I've done a lot of Beth Moore homework, but there are mounds that remain undone. Mounds, I tell you.). But, it may be that being in a large group of women (or even a small group) makes you nervous, too. We, as women, have a reputation for being overly emotional (true), catty (mostly true), gossipy (sometimes true), or just plain mean (don't want to even know how true that it is).
As women who follow Jesus, though, we have an opportunity to be so, so much more. Titus 2 describes a female relationship that is tender, loving, instructive, and supportive, all with the expressed purpose of proclaiming the validity of God's Word. When the world sees a group of women come together without all the drama or angst, strictly to edify and build up, they see the validity of the Gospel. That is huge.
I know not all small groups or Bible studies are full of love and hugs and kum bye ya, we are human and there will always be problems, but the payoff is so worth the risk.
So what's your reservation? Can I encourage you to give one a try? If you are a part of a great group, what do you love about your pack of girls?
