Bible, cake and old women

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Last Tuesday Rachel invited me to another women's Bible group that she goes to every other week. She had warned me that it was mostly old women but I didn't mind. I like spending time with and finding out about French Christians, no matter how old they are.

At 1:45 sharp Josephine (our middle-aged perfectionist neighbour who isn't one for being late) drove us down to Guebwiller, picking up an elderly woman on the way, who shared with us her dentist experiences and other such news along the journey.

When we arrived Josephine handed me a coat-hanger to put my coat on - I kind of got the impression that she doesn't much approve of slinging it over the back of a chair. I was then introduced to the group who smiled and cooed at me, whether because I was new or because I wasn't over the age of 50, I'm not sure.

We sat down at a table laid out with a white table cloth, Alsacian tea sets and cake. The meeting's hostess immediately began to fuss over me, asking me what I'd like to drink and eat. Then the woman sitting at the other end of the table opposite me, who was clearly the leader and had quite a severe air about her, began interrogating me. Where was I from? Where did I live? What did I do? Where were Cedric and Laetitia from? Luckily one or two of the other, seemingly gentler women, who I knew from Rimlishof, helped me to answer the line of questions being fired at me.

Once everyone had had a chance to drink and try some of the apple tart on offer (I was given a gigantic piece but I didn't complain of course) they all took out study booklets on Luke (I'm still waiting for my copy) ready for the meeting. It all seemed very rigid and proper and I wondered whether the Holy Spirit wholly approved but I know I can't judge and it's good for me to study in depth parts of the Bible so I get a better understanding of them.

Before coming to France I could never have forseen that on a Tuesday afternoon I would be sat round someone's dining room table, surrounded by women at least 40 years older than me, studying the Gospel of Luke. But although this isn't how I ever imagined spending my time here, now that I've accepted in my heart that this is where God wants me, I don't mind at all and rather thinking all the time 'what on earth am I doing here?', I can enjoy everything that I do here.

Another such women's Bible group came on Saturday morning. I started going to it last year with Rachel and really enjoyed it. This time we looked at the story of the woman who suffered from internal bleeding before Jesus healed her. I've read this story a number of times but as we studied it as a group I learnt so many things from it and mostly about God's amazing love. I couldn't help but smile as we read it and I was filled with a sense of how much God loves us, shown in this story by the way Jesus treats the woman. It was incredible! And I felt my love for God grow deeper. Just as John says in 1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. Only once you realize how much God loves you can you begin to feel for Him the same love.

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