For women who have entered into it recently or years ago, widowhood is a new season — one that comes with its own unique worries, trials and blessings.
For one widow in Birmingham, those trials and blessings brought her closer to God and in the process, closer to His will.
A member of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, she found her heart being pulled toward widow ministry in Spring 2014.
She met with Kristen Torres, minister of spiritual development at the Birmingham Baptist Association church, and the two began planning for and praying over Seasons, a ministry of and for widows.
“We all go through seasons,” Torres said. “Seasons are inevitable. Even though I haven’t walked where (widows) have walked, I do know Who walks with me and He walks with them too.”
The ministry will have three aspects — widows receiving, widows responding and widows reaching out.
To launch Seasons, Dawson Memorial Baptist hosted a luncheon Jan. 30 in the church’s fellowship hall. About 50 widows of various ages gathered for fellowship and heard from Denise George, author of 30 books and wife of Timothy George, dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham.
George shared about turning points in a woman’s life.
“We all have wonderful and horrible turning points in life,” George said, mentioning some of her own — when she accepted Christ at 9 years old; when she felt God’s call on her life to write; when her father died in the hospital.
The last turning point was a “eureka moment,” she said. “It came during a crisis and it has changed my life and will change any woman’s life if she surrenders herself — it’s rest.
“I learned that I can trust God and that He keeps His promises even when things are out of control and not perfect,” George said, referring back to her time in prayer over her father who had fallen ill. She prayed that God would heal him and bring him home, but God didn’t answer George’s prayers like she thought He would. Her father died. It took time but she eventually learned to embrace God’s love and faithfulness and found rest in His promises.
It wasn’t easy, the resting and the trusting, she said. “But I think it’s OK for Christians to struggle because it sends us back to the Word. … Today, I encourage you to completely rest and trust in Christ. He keeps His promises.”
Torres said that idea was really what the event was all about.
“The whole purpose of the day is that they find their rest in Jesus and know that He is with them,” she said. “We also hope the event will help build unity (among them) and relationships as sisters in Christ.”
A survey was handed out at the end of the luncheon where participants could mark whether they want to receive (assistance with financial issues and/or daily living activities, given a care basket, community grief support), respond (participate in regular gatherings, have a prayer partner, participate in a Bible study for widows) or reach out (join the intercessory prayer team, welcome new missionaries to the missionary house, volunteer in kids ministry).
For more information about Seasons, contact Torres at ktorres@dawsonchurch.org or 205-871-7324.
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