I had supper Monday night with my two college roommates, Cheryl and Peggy. We try to get together whenever Cheryl is in the country, to reconnect and catch up with what's going on in our lives. As most of you will attest, when you meet up with great friends the distance and the time apart just seem to melt away, and it is as if there has been no time or distance between you at all. This is the feeling we have when we get together.
I've written about them before. Today I want to salute the character and the courage of these two wonderful friends. They are both talented, funny and kind, and I count it a great privilege to have them in my life.
Cheryl, along with her husband Steve, is a longtime missionary to Hungary. In fact, she told us last night that they are approaching their 25th year on the field. In the past few years Cheryl completed the grueling task of earning her doctorate in special education. Currently she is serving as an educational consultant for her mission board, working with teams all over Europe to identify educational needs in the children of missionaries and in international schools run by their mission board. Further, she helps to design programs of study that will address the needs identified and lead to a better educational program for each student. Her heart for her work and for the people of Hungary is always evident, and she bubbles with enthusiasm whenever she talks about either of them.
Peggy is a pastor's wife and leads many activities at their small church in Summerville, GA. She is an administrator for the Christian school in her area and has taught many classes in this school. She loves history, and we laughed last night as she told us about getting "history cold chills" when she teaches and tells certain stories from history. She and her husband Danny have dedicated their lives to serving their community through their church.
Whenever I spend time with these ladies I come away full... full of joy, full of laughter, and full of encouragement. Their words bolster me and affirm me. I hope they feel the same.
We've all become grandmothers in the past few years, and we all relish this new role. There is nothing like it in the world. We showed our pictures and told our cute stories, just as any good grandmother would do.
We are each facing several challenges in our lives right now. It was good to sit together and share our burdens. There are no others I feel more confident in sharing these hard things, and in the sharing, we are stronger and more courageous.
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“Eshet chayil—woman of valor— has long been a blessing of praise in the Jewish community. Husbands often sing the line from Proverbs 31 to their wives at Sabbath meals. Women cheer one another on through accomplishments in homemaking, career, education, parenting, and justice by shouting a hearty “eshet chayil!” after each milestone. Great women of the faith, like Sarah and Ruth and Deborah, are identified as women of valor.”
--Rachel Held Evans
My daughter's friend Rachel, who makes her living as a writer and hosts a blog, has a series dedicated to women of valor. She highlights women she knows, and also had a contest in which other women could write a tribute to a “woman of valor” in their own life. I have been inspired by these stories and want to share this story as my own reflection on a “woman of valor” who I have come to know.
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