What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
Matthew 10:27

            This particular day Peggy was telling me about an idea she had for a bible study for young adults based on John Paul’s Theology of the Body. I listened, I encouraged, I gave advice, and I promised to pray for its success. As time went on the study was our main topic of conversation. Peggy would call and read her latest pages to me or she would email them so I could read along with her. Her most nagging problem was that she couldn’t seem to find the right person to assist her in this most current endeavor. We would discuss her closest friends there in Jacksonville, but none seemed just right. And then it happened.  As we talked one day on the phone, she blurted it out, I could be her partner!  It seemed so right, so natural, at least to her. I told her I would pray on it and attempt to discern where the Holy Spirit would lead. Part of me was visualizing the glamour and the fame (ok, so that’s a bit much!); another part of me was thinking about how very crazy this was. I suppose I was a bit of a doubting Thomas. I believed that my sister could write this study, I just wasn’t as sure that I was ready to take on something of that magnitude. I had a full time job; I had a young child at home and an equally “young” husband! Where would I find the time? How could this work? We lived too far apart from each other. This was impossible! 

            True to my word, I prayed on it, and I listened for that small voice that I had come to know so well, the voice of the Holy Spirit at work within me. I know it well because over the years the voice has spoken many times and I have come to recognize the promptings, some more gentle than others. Even once I knew what I was to do, I fought the answer. I thought of ways of justifying myself right out of the situation, I was afraid, I was nervous. Who was I to write a study, especially one that brought me face to face with my past?  I don’t have a degree in anything except the School of Hard Knocks, but I have come to believe that wise saying, “God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.”  I finally said yes, yes to God, yes to the Holy Spirit, yes to my sister.  I have prayed to be more like Mary; this is the result of prayer!  Be ever mindful of what you pray for, God just may answer your prayers….

          And so, Marci came onboard. The most awesome part of our teamwork is the help from the Holy Spirit. I had always been given understanding of text and direction during my first year, but it was nothing compared to what happened whenever we would get together to work on the study as a team. Our weekends of “thumping” meant we left our homes for a quiet place of retreat. This project is, by far, the workings of two families. Without our husbands, left at home to oversee the running of our homes, we would not have had the opportunity to let the Holy Spirit take us to unbelievable heights.