I just received some distressing news. A woman I care about deeply--my Bible study leader in South Dakota--has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. She had had a very difficult summer, health-wise. In fact, I didn't get to say goodbye to her in person before we moved to New Mexico, as she was indisposed. She and I have been in touch, though, and that has been a blessing. The following was on her Facebook update:
Here is my latest update.
I do have ALS-Lou Gehrig's. I have had fantastic doctors and nurses. I'll be going to Mayo but no date yet.
My speech is slipping away but the rest of this old body is hanging in there.
Thank you Thank you to all who have rallied around Wayne and me in prayers, cards, texts, and visits.
Our faith and hope isn't in this world but in Jesus who has blessed us with a peace that surpasses all understanding.
Jackie Heckathorn is known around our church for leading women's Bible studies. I can name several woman who attribute their spiritual growth in life to Jackie's studies. She teaches the Word of God uncompromisingly. I remember the first Bible study I attended at her house. She told me, "You'll never hear about me leading a study about how to have joy or something like that. It's always going to be digging deep into the Word."
Old and new Christians alike (even unbelievers) came to her studies, getting a deeper understanding of God's word. It was a place where anyone could ask any question, and Jackie would dig into the Bible for the answers.
I got an additional benefit from being in her Bible studies.
If you've read my blog, you know that I struggled with some "mean girl" issues in the past. I was hurt deeply by other girls in junior high (I'm not unique in that--almost no one makes in through junior high unscathed). What made it difficult was that these girls were supposedly Christians, in my youth group. Some very hurtful things happened. As a result, I really struggled in my relationships with other girls, and then other women as I got older. I went to several women's Bible studies as an adult, and all of them made me break into a cold sweat. I would often misinterpret everything said or done as a personal slight against me. Occasionally, there really would be a mean woman I crossed paths with, but more often then not, it was all in my head. The one notable time I really did struggle with an adult "mean girl" in a Bible study, I handled it all wrongly, mainly because of these struggles. And believe me when I say that I really struggled in this area of my life. I was incredibly distrustful. I viewed this as "staying ahead of the game" so to speak. If I distrusted them, and they turned out to be nice, then I was okay. But if I trusted them and they ended up being mean, I would get taken advantage of. This was my thought pattern, wrong though it was.
So...when Jackie first invited me to a Bible study she was leading, I wasn't so sure about it. Something inside said to go. So, I went. I remember that first day, pulling up to her house. Another woman I knew casually from church had just gotten out of her car and was walking to the front door. My blood ran cold. Would these ladies gang up on me? No! I couldn't think like that. It had caused so much disaster in my life. I wasn't going to let the past have power over me. I got out of the car and also walked to the door.
Jackie and the other woman were laughing as Jackie's dog did tricks, and I started to relax. More ladies showed up over the next few minutes. There was a girl there who was in her early 20's and a brand-new Christian. She asked a lot of questions about things in the Bible. The other lady who had shown up just as I had also asked a lot of really good questions. These two ladies' questions steered the conversation toward different things in the Bible, and to really good places. No one there was there to be mean. This was the first time I trusted a group of women. This was the first women's Bible study I can honestly say I succeeded in.
Jackie disciples women through the Bible. She is no-nonsense about it. There are no games played. The people who come to her study only stay if they want to be in the Word.
God used Jackie, not only to be a teacher, but a healer in my life. I really believe God healed me of my "mean girl" fears. I am no longer scared to befriend my fellow Christian women. I'm no longer so distrustful.
Please pray for Jackie and her husband Wayne (who is also an in-depth Bible teacher at the church). They are a precious couple that Walter and I have been proud to call friends.
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