The Women

I woke up at 4 am...I'm not sure if I am still suffering from jet lag or if I just can't sleep. Sometimes I struggle with sleep. I'm not worried about anything (which is one of the reasons I suffer from insomnia) or anxious about any upcoming event. In fact, there's been one thing after another on my calendar for months and I finally have some breathing room. I was just awake. It provided me with some quiet early this morning to read Scripture and contemplate the part of the Easter story that I will share with my class this coming Sunday morning. I love it when I can meet with God before the hecticness (is that a word?) of the day starts.

Our lesson this Sunday morning is from Luke 24. Early in the morning they -- they being the women from the end of chapter 23 -- went to the tomb. I imagine them walking on the road, carrying the spices they had prepared to anoint the lifeless body of the One they loved. As they walked, I imagine, they talked about what happened over the past days, about what they would find when they got there, and the task they were preparing to accomplish. Scripture tells us in Mark's gospel that they wondered and talked about who would roll the stone away from the mouth of the tomb.

As the women reached the tomb they found the stone already rolled away. They went inside, finding it empty. The stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty...the promise fulfilled.

Maybe you know the story. The women were instructed by angels that the Savior had, in fact, risen from the dead just as He had promised. Go and tell, the angels said. Go find the disciples and let them know what's happened.

My main purpose with AIM (the organization I travelled to India and Nepal with) is women's ministry. Our goal is, in the future, to have women's conferences in Asia. I gave a short testimony about God's call to women at the crusade in Nepal and after I returned to my seat a pastor sitting behind me leaned forward and thanked me. He said, "If our families are strong, our churches will be strong."

God values women. God calls women to accomplish His purposes. God uniquely created women and He gives them (us) talents and gifts to be used for the building up of the body of Christ and to edify others. To the glory of His great name.

So, since this post is already long enough, tomorrow I will post about my encounters with women in India. It just may have been the highlight of my trip. Just a teaser so you'll come back...

Serving the King,

Jeanette