Still Growing

Chuck and I started going to Small Group in May after attending our church for years. Grow Groups or Small Groups are the new Sunday Schools for adults.  We put off finding one because?  Because they mostly meet on weekday evenings and that just seemed impossible to commit to.  Chuck drives in to the driveway most nights at 7:00 pm.  He's been up since 5:15 am.  It almost seemed cruel to ask him to commit to this but he said he would try it with me.  I've done a few women's Bible Studies and we've done a couple of Couples Bible Studies on a stretch of Sunday afternoons...but never a long term commitment on a weeknight like this. 

We found a group called Empty Nesters and about half of the group lives in our area...the other half closer to the church, which is 25 minutes away.  Chuck does his best to get home early enough for the drive there if it's closer to the church. We meet on Wednesday evenings and are enjoying the fellowship with other "empty nesters." I have to bite my tongue to keep from talking too much and Chuck sits there and squirms because he doesn't want to get called on. We are the picture of "opposite."

We are somewhat late to the Bible Study thing.  I have always taught Sunday School and that is where I have learned my Bible knowledge.  The level of Kindergarten through Second Grade is a wonderful place to start.  It's simple. God loves you.  He sent His son Jesus to take our sin away.  So the level we have jumped to is scary and intimidating for me...like our current study on Revelation.  (ugh..not pleasant at all)  I have lots of questions.  It seems the more I read and hear, the more I question.

Not that I don't believe in God.  And I know the Bible is His word spoken to others and documented in history.  But living in 2012, it takes a lot of study and knowledgable interpretation to apply His word to my daily life.  Mind boggling when what I'm searching for is His comfort and strength and GRACE.  I want my God to be loving and comforting and then I read Revelation?  Yikes.  And by "read" I mean stumble through words with no comprehension whatsoever.

But we carry on.  We have committed. 

One really sweet thing that has come out of our Small Group time is some of the homework we had lately.  Our preacher was doing a sermon series on marriage.  Our Small Group assignment followed the subject of the weekly sermon and the topic of marriage and we were asked this question...

What one characteristic have you come to appreciate most about your spouse since your wedding day?

We were to answer this by writing it on paper.  Then we would hand our paper to our spouse to read out loud on Wednesday evening.  Some wrote only one word...like "faith" or "caring."  Some wrote a paragraph or two.  We were to keep it to a 3 minute response for time purposes.  Our group is not so small...about 8 to 10 couples.

I wrote mine a couple of nights before the meeting but, of course, didn't share it with Chuck. I asked Chuck if he had done his "homework" on Tuesday evening...before the Wednesday night Small Group meeting.  He said that he didn't....and then mumbled that he wasn't a good writer....and some other  mumbling.  I told him it wasn't about how good of a writer he was...just write one sentence...one word.


 What? 

                                  You can't think of one characteristic you appreciate about me?

Whatever!



So know this when you read what he wrote.

But first...my letter to Chuck...which he had to read out loud in front of a group of people.  This is the most words he's spoken in a year.  I'm not kidding.

And now sweet Chuck's letter to me...a man of few words...a man who says he is not a good writer...

Yep.  I had to read that long, long letter out loud. 


So Small Group has been a success if for nothing else, I got this letter from a man of few words...who turns out to be a very good writer.  Who knew he had all those words in his head? 








By the way, the series on marriage was very good. 

You can listen here.