Indeed God speaks once, or twice, yet no one notices it.
In a dream, a vision of the night when sound sleep falls on men,
while they slumber in their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction.
Job 33:14-16 (NASB)
God gave me a dream of creating a book club that became a reality when my husband retired from his senior pastor position of Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2006.
Church life presents many opportunities for building deep and satisfying relationships and my experience was no different. There were many Christian women whom I did not want to lose touch with following our departure. I focused on a few women who I felt were particularly vital to my own personal growth—four women who were defined, motivated to stay intellectually sharp, and loyal. I invited them to begin a book club with me. They included:
- a family practice doctor/educator, bioethicist; strategist—sensitive, responsible, accomplished.
- a hospice nurse/mother, grandmother, educator—empathetic, sacrificial, nurturing.
- a pastor’s wife/mother, grandmother, mentor—wise, disciplined, committed.
- a theologian’s wife/mother, grandmother—hospitable, spontaneous, knowledgeable.
- And me—a pastor’s wife/mother, grandmother, mentor—dreamer, beautifier, intentional.
We began reading and we all enjoyed many interesting discussions that took place for a few hours on Sunday afternoons for several years. But then we read a book that changed all of our lives. It was called Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, a 1971 novel by Elizabeth Taylor. Set in London in the 1960’s, the recently widowed Laura Palfrey moves into the Claremont Hotel, where she joins a group of other elderly hotel residents.
While the hotel resident’s circumstances were relatively comfortable, they were subject to loneliness and boredom and depended on family visits to prove to themselves and others that they had not been abandoned by their loved ones. This got our attention.
We began preparing for the problems of loneliness, boredom, and a loss of usefulness in our old age. Our solution was to add our names to a waiting list for Westminster Village. When we all arrived at Westminster we became a gang united in one purpose. Our gang is a group of friends who meet regularly to work together to bring a Godly influence to our community.
I dreamed of starting a book club. It turned into a gang—spreading the good news of Jesus Christ!