My woodworking class got canceled due to lack of interest. So I signed up for a women's Bible study. It took me some hard thinking before I decided to take this plunge. Let me explain my experience with women's Bible studies...
I grew up in a hometown, Evangelical, conservative, exclusive-as-a-country-club kind of church. There were lots of social rules at this church. Certain people sat in certain places during the service each week. The china in the kitchen had to be put away just so. Only a select few members could participate on committees (all of which were perpetually bent out of shape). My parents know more about this church politics stuff that I do. I was just a kid, so I only noticed what I noticed.
Over the years, my mom was part of several women's Bible study groups at this church. These groups always had the same dynamic. A group of conservative, long-married women would get together weekly to have vapid conversations about their children's activities and how peachy keen God was. And they made salads, which they exchanged. They even had a salad fundraiser every year, called Salad-a-Rama. They sold tickets to the community. You paid to go eat lots of different kinds of salads. Tickets sold quickly.
I have spent much of my life trying not to be a "Salad-a-Rama Lady". I never want anyone to think of me as surfacey, fake or addicted to rules. So what possessed me to take this class?
I was talking to a friend of mine a while ago and I mentioned that I haven't known many strong women who are also strong Christians (many of them were "Salad-a-Rama Ladies"). I do have a handful of friends who believe and feel the same way I do, but we no longer live close to one another. I crave being around these strong women, especially at this time in my life. I feel like I'm waiting for my life to take some direction, and last year several of my close relationships fell apart. I need some support, some guidance.
So today I joined a women's group at a church that doesn't have Salad-a-Rama.
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