Yesterday evening we started a women’s Bible study at church. We’re tackling the Book of John using a three-question technique several of us learned at a study led by Kendra Graham (Billy’s Graham’s granddaughter-in-law). It’s an incredibly powerful way to dig deep into scripture, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.
And although we just looked at the first 13 verses of the first chapter of John, we did find some incredibly meaty stuff! This form of study is wonderful to do on your own, but sharing it with a group of other women is delightful. We each bring our own thoughts, backgrounds and lessons to the Word. And sharing those makes the study so much richer and more meaningful.
But what I like best about this study, is the way we come together as women to share prayer concerns, laughter, deep thoughts, challenges and so much more. When I was little, my mom taught me the importance of sharing. She could split a soda between three glasses so that there wasn’t even a hair’s breadth of difference. I think my brother’s and I shared reasonably well (mom, you may remember differently!) and that was thanks to parents who not only taught us about sharing, but who demonstrated it for us.
As an adult, the sharing lesson has taken on new meaning for me. It’s not just about sharing good things, but also about sharing life’s struggles. It can be tempting to hoard struggles and challenges. To hide them so that people might be fooled into thinking we’re perfect.
But sharing a problem can often do two things:
1) Make the problem seem more manageable. Now you have help, support, prayer–good stuff to see you through.
2) Comfort someone who’s going through the same thing. Maybe you share with another mom about your parenting struggles–she’s going through exactly the same thing and was afraid to speak up. Now you can work on it together.
I’m so grateful for my Godly girlfriends who are more than happy to share–whether its chocolate, chores or challenges.
Meet Sarah
