The end of Gideon

11.6.13

    That evening was the very last meeting of the Ladies Bible Study that I attend at our church. I was really sad to have missed a significant amount of the study, but I was really glad that I tacked on at the end just to see the ladies and to get what I could out of the study. It was also really good timing that our last meeting was going to be the last Wednesday before I returned to work. 

     We sat in our study and reviewed the previous week's topics, and shared our lives together. One of my absolute favorite things about doing an organized Bible study is that you get to share your journeys with everyone. One of the ladies in the group had joined at the same time I did about a year and a half ago, and she has grown so much in her faith and her perspective and outlook on life has just taken a complete 180. Another lady is a grandmother and admitted to us last year, "This is the first Bible study I've ever really done." I love these girls so much, and even though I'm one of the youngest, I have never felt like my opinion wasn't valid, or that I didn't have anything to contribute. It was sad for it to be the last study (even though we all vowed to attend the next study in the Spring).

      The leader turned the video on of Priscilla Shirer and the video started with Priscilla sitting on the end of a table with her shoes off (very comfy/casual). She sat and talked to the camera as she explained how she started the Gideon study, and shared with us a letter that someone had written to her before she even knew that she was going to write a study on Gideon that expressed an interest in her writing the study. I love it when people share their experiences with God like that. I love seeing His handprint throughout everyone's lives.

      At the end of the video, Priscilla talked about the Gideon organization here in the states. I didn't really register it, but the Gideon organization is that one that leaves the Bibles in the drawers at hotels. All of them have a little gold emblem on them representing the lamps that Gideon and his soldiers used (see one here). One of the ladies at our table made that connection for me and I was like, "OH! I didn't know those were called Gideon Bibles... Neat trivia." 

      The video ended with Priscilla praying over everyone and the ladies at my table all held hands as we listened to her prayer. This is one of my absolute favorite memories of any Bible study, the prayer times. I love being able to tangibly feel God's presence as our eyes are closed and our spirits are lifted in Awe of Him. I love listening to other's hope flow through their words to our God and feel the calmness of being in His presence. It was exactly what I needed to send me off into the next week.