"Caffeine, Cupcakes and Courage" Meeting Recap

"Caffeine, Cupcakes and Courage" Meeting

written by Joanna Metheny

This week’s meeting was an emotional one, and not just because it was our next-to-last meeting of the year. Melanie set the tone by sharing a couple of videos, one from pastor Tony Evans, which mentioned a verse I was surprised to find I’d never heard before: John 8:36 - If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. What a great verse to have to remember our theme for the year and hold on to.

Then Melanie tried to set the room on fire.

Testimonies came from two brave moms from our very own MOPS group, and were interspersed with a video from Kristina Kuzmic, and then an exercise we all participated in.

First we shared some of the negative things we tell ourselves; things like, you’re not good enough, you’ll never be a good wife / mom, you’ll never get healthy, you’ll never get your house clean, you’re a failure, etc.

After a good round of tears confessing all the horrible things we say to ourselves, we were told to pull out our baby pictures and think about saying those words to those little girls. And let me tell you, it was kind of horrifying. I don’t think anyone in the room was able to look at those sweet, innocent, happy, hopeful little kids and say any of those nasty things. So instead, we discussed what things we *would* say to our younger selves if we could. Speaking words of encouragement to them. Breathing life into them. Things like you are enough. You are doing your best. Good job, there is so much in store for you, you are perfect just the way you are. It was a surprisingly profound, and effective way to show just how awful all that negative self-talk we give ourselves truly is. How harmful, unnecessary, and how straight up mean it is.

Our first testimony came from Karen Widmer. Karen and her husband Joe have been married for 18 (and a half) years. She shared with us her deeply emotional journey to becoming a mother, and how closely she had held her story for fear of sharing it, as it was too painful. But she was brave enough to share with us all the heartrending ups and downs of her journey, and how despite devastating roadblocks and disappointment, God never abandoned her, and even gave her a signature verse to uplift her and give her hope, and to help her and Joe step out in faith.

Psalm 139: 13 – 15:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth." 

        What a powerful verse to hear. Especially in light of the exercise we were doing about our self-talk. How can we presume to say horrible things to ourselves about what we perceive our inadequacies to be, if we have been perfectly created by God? There’s just…no place for us to speak words like that because to do so would be to tell God he has made some pretty horrible mistakes in creating us. And I don’t think any of us are that foolish.

Our second testimony came from Christianna Gorbunoff. While her story was quite a bit different, it was no less powerful. Christianna and her husband Nikolai had rather a whirlwind romance and took the fast track to creating a family together. Her whole life, Christianna had dreamed of becoming a wife and mother, and those dreams were realized when she met, fell in love with, and married her husband. But possibly due to the stress of being newly married and having three babies in just a few short years, some issues from her husband’s past resurfaced and began to drive a wedge between them to the point of being on the brink of divorce when Christianna was 8 months pregnant with her youngest daughter. She never lost hope though, and never lost faith.

Christianna kept praying for her husband and looking for ways to fill him up. One of the tools she mentioned was a book called "The Power of a Praying Wife". Things came to a head just over a year ago, when after a fight, she mentioned the D-word, and a switch finally flipped in her husband. Within just a few short months, he went from battling substance abuse, constant anger, and darkness, to finding a new job, stopping the substance abuse, attending church, and getting baptized. Point being, there is always hope, and even when things may seem the darkest, or full of despair, God can still turn things around. They had a whirlwind romance, and just as sudden of a full-family turnaround. Her husband had a profound spiritual transformation due to God’s good grace and persistent loving prayer.

What a great example of how to be a faithful, loving wife even when it may seem like our husbands are not deserving. Because just as our spouses are flawed, so are we, and God refuses to ever give up on us.

~ Joanna