Semester End

 Betty (leader) and Betty Ann (teacher)

Tonight my first semester of Bible study ended.

As I sat at our table listening to the older women, I felt such sadness in knowing we wouldn’t be meeting again until mid-January.

There are many women that I admire in this group.

One is from Franklin, Tennessee.  Her heart is so special.  She reminds me of my mother, but there is an endearing love that shines so brightly in her.  She doesn’t choose to argue or defend, but simply state and understand.

Another has friends who have just lost their son to a heart attack at 48 years old.  She is completely and utterly hilarious.  Such a grandmother figure!  She embraces me in such warm hugs and even though we don’t know each other well, she hugs me like she knows me—hugs me like I’m family.

Another lady told the story of her coming to God.  As she prepared for her baptism at 20 years old, her then-newlywed husband kept asking her why and giving her a hard time about it.  Finally, she said, “Listen, if I’m driving home tonight and I die, I want to know where I’m going!”  And with that, he was baptized on the same night she was.

Her friend laughed exasperatedly as she talked about her antagonist husband.  He, too, always asked why and for proof.  Our leader responded, “He was a pilot for Fedex, right?  At some point you just have to have faith!  He had to have faith that his plane was going to take off!”

Our leader is hilarious.  She is thoughtful and has a funny sense of humor.  My favorite moment of her is when we were talking about war, consequences, and punishments.  A woman laughed, “Hopefully He’s kinder now, right?”  She said, “Well, He’s God, and God doesn’t change, so…no.”  It was a funny moment, because it was true!

Another is a banker, and she is just as quirky and hilarious as the rest of them.  She makes the simplest remarks and I just die laughing.

It has been a great semester.  I remember at its very beginning the doubt I felt in signing up for it.  I am so glad that God gave me the push I needed.  I feel like I’ve learned so much and I am so anticipating the beginning of our next semester together.