Wise Women in my Life

Rather than attempt to tackle another book and wonder if we had achieved the correct balance of Bible study with life application, we opted to bring in some great women of God from our own church. And for me, I’ve left each week with something different weighing on my heart, my conscience and my mind.

First, a wise woman who realized long ago that she had a true passion to study God’s word and share it came to communicate with us how that passion was realized and how she balanced studying God’s word with raising three children. (This is a woman I needed to hear wisdom from!) She encouraged me to recall that when I get consumed with “my thoughts and ideas” for my life, I should refocus and yearn to understand and hear what God is thinking for my life. Isaiah 55: 8 says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”

She also reminded us to be grateful for our marriage every day, and she also presented a new definition of a blessing, defining it as a time when God interrupts your life, and He makes you take you out and put Him in.

Next, a woman who is gifted in teaching women about approaching life in a godly manner, as a wife, as a mom, as a friend, brought us a host of biblical suggestions:

• Get in the word and get God on purpose…as the world will certainly try every way to pull me away.
• Ask God to fix me, not my husband. (Surely neither of us is wrong, right!? Haha) Remember that my husband is my first ministry, not the preschool or the Sunday School class, or the choir, etc.
• Surround myself with Christian friends who can encourage my walk and influence me in a positive way and who will be authentic with me!
• Remember that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. If I ever think I have “arrived,” I have likely fallen flat on my face and failed miserably. “If you think you’re right, you’ll rot, if you think you’re green, you’ll grow.”

It’s difficult to pick a verse from her time of sharing as there were many, but one she shared that seems to “stick” was Hebrews 10:23-24, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

Another brave and wise woman encouraged us in guarding our hearts with Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” She cautioned us to take every thought captive to keep it away from our heart and thus become a stronghold. She also suggested that we might ask God how we should spend our time. Is it a season to enjoy some of the sitcoms and dramas that are on TV today…or not? She also reminded us that God’s grace is sufficient to heal any wound, any mistake any failing….

A sweet friend and wise woman shared with us the contentment that can come only from God and the very faithfulness of God in all circumstances. Whether it is body image, marriage, career, etc., God is the only one who can bring contentment. Who doesn’t see their wrinkles, blemishes, pouch-ee part?!? No job, no husband, no friend is going to fill the void that sits in the depths of our souls. Nope…just God. And even during those times when we refuse to go to Him, and we keep looking elsewhere for fulfillment, He is faithful! Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Another sweet friend and amazing woman who has already weathered trials that I know I can’t quite grasp, shared with us how important it is to recognize that we all mess up and lucky for us, God likes messy people! Here were her points:

• It’s ok to be messy, Jesus hung out with “messy” people...the Gospels tell us all kinds of stories!
• God loves the messy and the broken hearted.
  - Psalm 147:3: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
  - Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  - Psalm 34:18: The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
• God is the only answer for messiness.
  - John 14:6: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
  - Matthew 7:13: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
• People appreciate the honesty from people who don’t have it all together.
  - James 3:2: We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
• Is there room for perfection in our lives?
  - Striving for God’s perfect love.
  - Striving for God’s perfect faith.
  - Striving for God’s perfect will.

And finally, tonight, I am more convicted than ever to embrace my time here on earth to serve God because it is short. This great woman shared that she and her husband have lost three parents and her younger sister over the past 18 months! The time here on earth is brief. How have I communicated with those dear to me? Have I been intentional in my relationships with them?

This amazing woman told us through her tears that God was in every loss she has suffered, and that God has prepared her over a lifetime for this season. It left me wondering if I’m “prepared.” Am I reading God’s word enough that when I do face a troubled time that I will have a foundation to stay afloat? I have some peace knowing that I have friends and family to support me, and that is a blessing.

I am just convicted that I need to do more. Any full-time working moms out there who have survived a Beth Moore study? That’s what I feel like I need. I just don’t want to fail at an attempt to take on such a study during a time that my family demands so much.

A Bible Study is a wonderful tool to learn more about God, but seeing God working in these women has given me the opportunity to see God’s word LIVING in people, and that has been awesome! It was, after all, a study on the Proverbs 31 woman that encouraged us to seek out the wise Christian women in our lives…who knows where we will go next and what we will learn…what I will learn!