I’m so glad you are here.
I have wanted to do this for a long time. Years, maybe even decades.
I have always had a soft spot for the women in the bible that more closely resemble me.
Broken
Abused
Depressed
and also…
Strong
Capable
Brave
The 12 women we will study together this year are all a mess of pain and beauty.
Despite what we may think, or have been told, or what we see in the culture around us, God loves them, so much, just as they are.
He loves them and He strengthens them, cares for them, and works things together for their good.
He loves me too. He strengthens me, cares for me, and works things together for my good.
I believe with all my heart that He loves you too. He strengthens you, cares for you, and works things together for your good.
In studying these women, I hope we all see glimmers of ourselves and how the Divine permeates our day to day lives.
I am glad you’re here.
The task of theology is linking our individual story to the biggest story we can imagine.
Introduction
Before we get started, I want to acknowledge something.
I think it is quite possible that I need this study more than you do.
You see, for years, I have studied the bible through the lens of marriage.
When my husband and I began dating, he was the most conservative man I had ever met. While I found myself questioning his fundamentalist and, at times, extreme beliefs, I absolutely loved his conviction, his passion, and his theological knowledge.
To me, it felt like safety and security.
He is truly a man of God. He will never leave me. God hates divorce. He is committed to me and my children, as to the Lord. You get the picture.
We spent hours talking about our beliefs, how we wanted to create a marriage and a family that honored the Lord, even gently debating aspects of the bible.
I fell in love with him in the context of our shared beliefs.
My husband’s strong convictions and church background deeply impressed me because my own experience, especially in church, has been wildly different. I didn’t live as a Christian until I was 29 and had what I can only describe as a deeply personal encounter with what (who) I just knew to be God.
I had faith before I had a church, and everything that came along with it.
Because of this, I was often the outsider, and frankly, the outcast in church settings. I was a single mom with a past. I didn’t know the “rules” and even the ones I thought I knew from the Bible (love your neighbor as yourself) were not as important in practice as the ones most talked about in church and women’s bible studies (submit to your husband and spank your kids).
At times, it felt like without a husband, I couldn’t really be a full participant in the church.
So, once I had one, I fully embraced the idea that marriage was God’s absolute best for all of us, no matter what the circumstances.
Then, 2016, my husband began questioning everything about his faith. I welcomed it.
I was not as conservative as he was, and often struggled to “honor” him in our home, especially with my children and their care. His staunch fundamentalist worldview began to soften and I hoped that we might grow closer together, united in a shared understanding and grace.
That’s not at all what happened.
Over our last years together, his commitment to church and faith, or lack thereof, paralleled his commitment to me, my children and our marriage, or lack thereof.
This is one of the heaviest realities I’ve had to untangle.
As my husband grew more and more detached from God and from me, I had no idea what to do with all the verses I’d stored up about marriage and family. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t save my marriage.
I was forced to reconsider everything I believed about marriage, divorce, the church and being a family.
It has been a brutal struggle to let go of what I thought, no, was convinced, my marriage would be. It has been a battle to let go of the deeply held image of my husband as the hero who wanted to save and protect me and my children.
Another battle has been letting go of my erroneous, marriage focused theology – to really look at what the bible says about me, as a woman, without the “headship” of a man.
To not feel little and less than – alone in my faith.
A Time Of Little Things
Recently, I stumbled across a passage in Zechariah 4 and discovered a passage emphasizing that seemingly small beginnings can be significant with God’s continuous, loving support and guidance. Zechariah 4: 10 encourages the people not to despise the small work they are doing because God will bring it to completion through His power – not our own.
My bible translation referred to this small work as A Time Of Little Things.
It’s exactly right.
The name of this study was born.
The stories I want to study this year are all about women, in everyday circumstances, being seen as “little” and less than. They all do seemingly little things that become significant.
Also, “little things” is the best description I can imagine for my day to day life right now.
For some time now, it has felt like I have been trying to put together a giant puzzle, but I don’t have the box cover and have no idea what it’s supposed to look like when it’s done.
At first, I panicked and frantically searched for the cover. Then, I cried in total defeat, looking at all the pieces of the puzzle and having no idea where to start.
Eventually, I found a piece here and a piece there that seemed to fit together. Not only that, these pieces were beautiful in their own right, with soothing colors and shapes.
I have a handful of pieces right now and they feel very precious to me. I am not even sure I want to look for more right now.
I just want to keep these pieces close, grateful to have found them in the mess.
For me, this year is a time of little things.
A Time Of Little Things: Study Overview
Each month will be devoted to one woman, one story in the bible. I will share what I have learned in my deeper dives and research about the story itself. I will also share how I am connecting my own, small story to the larger story of the bible.
I will invite you to do the same through a printable monthly resource, regular emails, and possibly monthly online get togethers.
A caveat…
I have been in way too many women’s bible studies that have sucked the life out of me, heavy with rules and judgement.
We will not be doing that here.
My goal is to make this as accessible and interesting as possible for any woman, no matter what she believes. My hope is that you would feel seen. I want you to take time to process and consider how you really feel about the bible and God.
You should know going in, I am not a bible scholar or theologian.
I am a woman who is learning how to trust herself and the Spirit that dwells within her. Studying the bible helps me do this.
(If you are looking for someone with more expertise and understanding, Beth Moore has so many wonderful bible studies you can do from the comfort of your own home.)
This study will most certainly be messier. Of course it will be. My life is a mess.
That’s the whole point.
I see the ridiculous goodness of God toward women.
Ultimately, this study is about being a woman and somehow connecting with the divine in the sometimes devastating, sometimes brilliant realities of our lives.
What I want to explore this year is how the seemingly small is actually quite magnificent.
It is a time of little things in my own life.
Little, precious, fragile things.
Thank you for joining me.
Shawna