for my power is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9
We first met when our daughters were in the fourth grade. She was the PTA president and as such was always the one out in front. I remember well one of the first times we met. It was at a parents’ meeting at her home, and true to form, she was outgoing and seemed to be in her element speaking to all those parents. I remember thinking I could never do that. The very idea of standing in front of a bunch of people and opening my mouth scared me silly, for it’s totally against my nature.
But the years passed, and as they did, I became serious about reading and studying the Bible, and something began to happen within me. I felt the brewing of a desire to pass onto other women what I was learning. But how could I ever do that? I was simply too shy to open my mouth. But the desire within me grew and one day God opened the door and believe it or not I found myself leading a women’s Bible Study, and one of the attendees was this long-time friend of mine. I’ll never forget how surprised she was that I was able to speak in front of these women, for she had always thought of me as too shy and reserved to do such a thing. She was amazed. In fact, over the years in our private conversations, in a light-hearted way, she often reminded me of how far I had come.
Well, all these memories flooded back when I ran into her the other day, and I realized afresh that it’s not me who has come so far, it’s God who has turned my weakness into His strength. Even in the midst of a busy day, He stopped me in my tracks and used the memory of a long-time friendship to remind me that His power shows up in my weakness!
That amazes even me.
Blessings and love to all,
Judy Rose Grubaugh