January 3rd Meeting

Welcome to 2012! We were all blessed with a scrumptious breakfast and a lesson in loneliness on an icy morning to begin the calender year. MOPS strives to be a place to find connections, support, and encouragement, and speaker Beth Beebe shared her stories of her own experiences and struggles in making real connections and sustaining relationships in your community. Beth is a preschool teacher who lives in Bloomington with her husband and two teenage sons, and she gave us personal and practical ways to give and receive help in times of loneliness. The truth is that we can be surrounded by people and still feel isolated.

Whether living in a foreign country where you don't speak the language, a bustling city with where no one gives out their phone numbers, or a tiny middle-of-nowhere town, we all need to find community and friendship. Someone to talk to, be encouraged by, lend a helping hand. A verse in Proverbs says "He puts the lonely in a family," and Hebrews chapter 10 says "Let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds." When the way is narrow, go deep with God. Beth exhorted us to be "God with skin on" for each other. Seasons bring change, she explained, and change brings hope. She also recommended the book A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada.

What strikes you about Beth's stories? Are you in a situation of loneliness? If not, what could you consider doing to be a source of comfort to someone who is?