Trepidatiously, I entered the foyer of Calvary Chapel. I had traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, alone, to participate in a weekend getaway with Beth Moore, beloved Bible teacher and ministry leader. This was an event I had been looking forward to for over a year now.
You see, every other year, Beth Moore invites women to memorize Scripture with her. Each woman picks two verses a month adding up to 24 verses for the year, and those who memorize at least 20 verses are invited to a special, intimate time of teaching with her.
And although I had been anxiously awaiting this weekend for months, honestly, I was now second-guessing myself. It had taken everything in me to leave my family for the weekend and travel halfway across the country for this event, and the women I usually attended with weren’t able to travel to Florida, so I was there all by myself.
I walked around the foyer, waiting for the doors to open, and tried to look busy and important. You know the drill – checking emails, texting friends. Covertly scoping the area for any signs of other women who were attending alone.
Yeah, I’m cool like that…
I prayed silently that the Lord would send someone to me who was by herself. And as I looked up, two women walked toward me and we began talking. As it turns out, both of these ladies were alone as well. And you’ll never believe this – they were both wives of retired Air Force guys!
What are the odds that, out of 250 women, three of us would end up talking with each other only to discover that our husbands had served twenty years in the Air Force?
I’m telling you, that may not seem like such a crazy or miraculous thing to you, but to me, it is. I was grateful to instantly and easily connect with these other women who had lived a life so similar to mine.
God is so good to provide just what we need when we need it.
In the morning session, Beth taught out of the book of Luke. Speaking on the parable of the sower (Luke 8), she stressed how the seed needs good soil to grow and then expounded on the definition of soil. She explained how soil is made up of both living and dead organisms and how it needs both life and death to be considered “good soil.”
Isn’t that something, friend? In order for us to grow, we actually need those bad things in our lives, those things that feel like death to us, because they draw us closer to Jesus.
She then read from Luke 13:6-8 (ESV):
And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
After reading the passage to us, she said this: “When God thinks we need some fruit in our lives, let’s not be surprised when a little manure gets thrown on us.”
Not only did her statement make me giggle; it also spoke to me. When something bad happens in your life, when someone is mean to you, when you feel defeated in some way, remember that God is allowing some manure to be flung onto you so that you can bear much fruit. So, friend, don’t worry about the manure!
This weekend was so much fun! I wish you all could have been there with me! When we checked into the event, we each had to write down on a card one scripture that we had memorized. Then in the afternoon session, Beth drew from those cards and if she drew your verse, you had to stand and say it. She only pulled a few cards, and guess who was the first one to be called??
Me!!!
It was such a blast to stand alongside her and quote the verse I had written on the card!
Beth has such a heart for God’s Word and such a loving and fun spirit about her. I hope that all of you will join me next time she does a scripture memory team. You won’t regret hiding God’s Word in your heart because the Lord is faithful to bring those verses to mind when you need them.
I’m going to leave you with my verse that I spouted off to Beth along with a couple of fun pictures. Love you, friends!
“Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves, but do what it says.” James 1:22
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