Words of Wisdom

This past week I have enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to meet over a meal with several good women friends. On Sunday I went to lunch with two friends. One of them was one of the first “Prayer Partners” God has given to me in my officership. After training school, I was commissioned to be the assistant officer in Long Beach, California. Every Friday morning Major Dorothy Brown opened her home to any women who wanted to come and pray. Often times it would be just the two of us. On those occasions we shared some very deep lessons about prayer, spiritual growth and life. She was the perfect gift to me at that time. From that experience with her, I learned the importance of asking God to supply me with prayer partners in every appointment. Years later we are still good friends and learning from each other. I appreciate her words of wisdom. The other woman in our meal fellowship is a friend from many years who came in to my life the second time I was appointed to Long Beach. This time Don and I were the corps officers and Audrey was one of our soldiers.

The three of us were enjoying a great time of fellowship. I observed about how wonderful it was to see them as sisters in Christ together as friends that day. When we were at the corps in the late 1980s, they had not been friends or enemies. They just ran in other circles in the corps. Audrey was involved in band and songsters; Dorothy was involved in Sunday School and teaching classes. We began discussing how easy it is to label people and miss out on really being blessed by getting to know them.

Today I had lunch with an old friend, Major Dawn Rocheleau, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship. She has spent most of her as an officer time in the northern California divisions and I have spent most of my time as an officer in the southern California divisions. For the first time in years we are in the same area and we are trying to catch up with each other.

These two meal times are examples of women ministering to women. We had a need to eat. (Our felt need) The opportunity was there to go together. (More than one) Sharing of spiritual and emotional things occurred. (Ministry) Can forming a Women’s Ministry group be that simple? I think so. Now we need to expand. (Not our waist lines – please, the number we can reach by the meal time fellowships) So what now? I think I need to figure out how to report these meetings to my corps officer and encourage my friends to report these times of ministry as well. (Major Brown often meets with a group of windowed and single women after the Sunday meeting, but I don’t think she has thought to count it.)

The Red Hat Society has the secret. Wear a red hat and go out with your girlfriends for a meal or refreshments. They keep it easy and fun. I was visiting my grandmother in the rest home and discovered that she has a red hat with a purple feather. The Red Hat Society comes once a month to have “tea” with the ladies. The rest home supplies the drink and food as their regular snack time and the Red Hat Society brings hats and does a fun program. Now is that Women’s Ministries or Community Care? Whatever it is, it is easy and it is doing something. Could you start the Blue Bonnet Society in your community? Or even the White-hats On Women Society? Could it be that easy? It’s just an idea to get you thinking and praying about what you, your corps or your division could do as part of the WOW Initiative.

God designed women to need the fellowship of other women. I needed the words of wisdom that came from Dorothy when I was a young officer and I need them now. We need each other. How to capture and build on that for the Kingdom of God? That is the Question! WOW!