Women of Faith

I went to my first Women of Faith meeting last night. This is a group of women from our church, Mountain View Baptist, who get together once a month to have prayer, bible study and to fellowship with each other. I had my reservations about going because Ethan is about to be 3 months old and I feel like my evenings are cut short as it is with my commute. However, God has been working on me for awhile to get more involved with our church. As I have gotten older, I'm not so easily swayed to "step outside the box" when it comes to doing things like this. I am a big believer in praying about what God wants for us. So, I went. It was wonderful.

I met some very kind, strong Christan women. We ate together, chatted about our families, work and how God IS working in our lives. We brought up prayer requests for those who are in desperate need at the moment. We listened to our hostess read some scripture and then we did something that was truly amazing. From the moment everyone walked in the door, everyone was asked to take a helium filled balloon and tie it around their wrist. I will admit that I was less than enthusiastic but I played along. I knew it would be irritating to me to try to "deal" with this ridiculous balloon while eating, talking, etc. Most of the meeting was held on a deck outside looking out over Hagan's Mountain. It was beautiful.

Anyway, before we adjourned, we were asked write on a small piece of paper all of the things we wanted to give to God....things that are weighting us down in our lives. When we finished, we slid the piece of paper onto the string of the balloon and tied it so it would fall off. We proceeded to talk about what God wants for us. Then, at the same time, we all released our balloons and watched them float away from this house sitting high atop the mountain. The balloons were many different colors. It was truly a sight to behold. It was the neatest thing to see all of those burdens floating away with those balloons. Just knowing that each woman had released something to God was truly amazing. I felt like I could instantly breathe better.

We all have "things" that weigh us down or irritate us. I am not exempt just because I'm trying my best to have a more positive attitude. It's difficult sometimes to "choose" to be happy when it seems as though most everyone around you isn't, but I have to keep plugging on and pray that God will give me the strength to help lift them up when they can't seem to lift themselves.

I continue to be amazed at God's love each day. He has given me so much to be thankful for. I will continue to praise him and I will try to continue to see good in everything.

I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"

Philippians 4:13