Good morning Ladies ~ I hope you all in New Jersey will soon see warmer temps. I just did a search on your weather for this past Monday when you had your meeting and it was between 28-36 degrees, and with wind chill I know it felt really cold. Yet, around 90 of you dear ladies left your warm, comfortable homes to visit with your dear sisters for your meeting/luncheon. That is wonderful!
Here are some candid shots of some of you lovely ladies.
Here are the March birthday girls.
Happy Birthday to all of you.
I heard you had some excitement there this past Monday.
Kennedy Health System, Life Support Education
STAT Medical Transport, Inc.
…surprised the ladies with a staged emergency visit and then demonstrated life-saving maneuvers.
Now we come to what goes on ‘Behind the scenes’ to make a meeting happen. It is because of ‘faithful service’, done for the glory and honor of our Great God. It is His strength in us that makes us able to do what we do.
Here we have the dear ladies who are the Telephone Reservationists.
They call to remind our sisters of the next meeting, to see who will be able to attend or not. What a job this is! It makes the sisters feel loved and cared for. By their time and efforts we find out how our sisters are doing.
This is dear Mildred Keeys, she is also a member of the Telephone Reservationists group, but did not hear the call for the group shot.
Next we have Becky Bacalzo
who is in charge of the Teddy Bear Ministry.
Here we see Donna Keen with hearing impaired Friends. I asked Dotti what the dear lady in the front row was signing and it is the sign for ‘I love you’. Isn’t that sweet?
Next, we have Director Mary Lou and her husband Paul Tweed. Having a good director is a blessing from God. Having a faithful team as we have here is a double blessing.
Without this lovely lady, Diana Clark ~ there would be no pictures to share of our great northern ‘Friends Needing Friends’ sisterhood.
Thank you to all the staff who help to make this ‘Special Sisterhood’ what it is.
Thank you to all of our sisters who faithfully attend the meetings. By that you are a light to others, you encourage one another, you share, you laugh and sometimes cry together, and you pray for one another.
We all must remember that God has brought us to this place of widowhood. He is drawing us closer to Him through each and every day. He knew that we would be in this time of our lives, before we were even born.
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The day after I lost my dear husband (9Dec.2012) I found online, a writing from Octavius Winslow (1808-1878), that touched my heart deeply. It was exactly what I needed at the time.
“The Godly Widow Confiding in the Widow's God
It is well!
All that He does, who speaks these touching words, is well.
It is well with you, for He who gave in love, in love has taken away the mercy that He gave.
The companion of your youth,
the friend of your bosom, the treasure of your heart,
the staff of your riper and the solace of your declining years,
is removed,
but since God has done it — it is,
it must be well.
Look now above the circumstances of your deep and dark sorrow,
the second causes of your bereavement,
the probable consequences of your loss,
God has done it;
and that very God who has smitten,
who has bereaved,
and who has removed your all of earthly good,
now invites you to trust in him.
Chance has not brought you into this state;
accident has not bereft you of your treasure;
God has made you a widow, that you may confide in the widow’s God."
(underlining's mine)
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In time, our GREAT God fills our hearts with peace and even joy again as we draw closer to Him, as we rely on Him for our daily strength in all that we do.
In every meeting we recite this wonderful scripture below found in I Corinthians chapter 1. Let us remember it daily so that we may be a light to others of God’s continued love and tender mercies in our lives.
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"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction,
so that we may be able to comfort those
who are in any affliction,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted
by God."
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God bless you all.
You are priceless to Him,
He loves and cares for you deeply.
I am honored to be a part of this special sisterhood, created by God our Heavenly Father.
Love and hugs ~ Rainey
