Surrounded by Women

Lately I've been surrounded by women. I live with my wife and my daughter. A group of people we call our "Jesus Dojo" meet at our house on Wednesday nights, and there are far more women than men. Yesterday I set up a trip to the Bay Area Rescue Mission with the Women's Ministry at Creekside and spent the day with them. Many of us ended up working on...surprise...a dorm for women. There were women everywhere. I'm just thankful my little girl is nowhere close to hitting puberty. I figure I've got a good decade before I have to think about that. As my Week of Women comes to an end I am thankful for what I am seeing God do around me.

The group of women I took to the Bay Area Rescue Mission were impressive in many ways. They seemed eager to think about life outside the Danville bubble. They seemed eager to help. One old friend told me about her horizons being broadened by reading Brian McLaren books and watching videos about the children of Africa. Another told me of her weekly trips to the jail to visit women who have been incarcerated. Throughout the day I had to check myself. It can be easy for people who spend a good amount of time with the poor and homeless to swiftly and ruthlessly judge middle aged women from Danville. It can be easy to be shocked by new SUV's and fancy rings. But I must choose love, and spending time with these women as we drove through a community that has been ravaged by violence in recent months was good for all of us. My Creekside friends love Jesus, and they are trying to follow Him. I love my Creekside friends just like I love my friends who live in Golden Gate Park or rundown apartments in Concord.

Our Jesus Dojo is back in full swing, and I am blessed to have a wonderful group of people meeting at my house (even though there are more women than men). We are taking two months to wrestle with Exploring the Story. What is the story of God and this world? Where do we fit in the story? How do we tell the story? How do we learn from the imagination Jesus displayed to speak of the Kingdom of God? Each week we have, for lack of a better term, homework assignments, to complete. This past week we each wrote a short story of our lives focusing on God's provision and care through the years. After each person read their story we prayed for them and thanked God for His love and provision. I am so impressed by the creativity and honesty of the group. I'm looking forward to these two months.

Last but not least, my two most important women are my wife Andrea and daughter Kayla. As I wrote down my story to share with the group, I felt like God woke me up to His blessings. It was as if he threw a bucket of cold water onto my face, and it felt so good. I was reminded of how precious my wife and daughter are. I was reminded of how much I love them. As I typed on my computer I got some serious moisture in my eyes. I was reminded of how blessed I am to have a family that makes me so happy. My wife and daughter are the most precious gifts He has given me on this earth.