Gratitude Series 2018, Day Twenty Four: An Opportunity

I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of a group of women who meet once a month to study a Bible verse and pray for each other.  I described our fearless leader in a previous post, but I'm also very thankful for the other women who make up the group.  It's very easy for a group of people to be fake around each other, to pretend like everything in your life is perfect, and certainly to not reveal the worries and the hurts that keep you awake at night.  It's also very easy, if problems do come out, for the conversation to turn into catty gossiping or a bitter complaining sesh.  This group achieves that rare equilibrium of people really sharing their lives with each other, and the others finding a good balance of listening and acknowledging hurt but also being positive and encouraging.  The more the environment proves to be safe and supportive, the more people are willing to share, and the more people are willing to share, the deeper the bond between everyone.  I haven't been part of many groups that work this well, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be part of this one.