"I'm Courtney and I don't have a ten-year plan..."

Last night kicked off the new women's Bible study at Lifepoint, Beth Moore's updated version of A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place.   I had done this study once before while in college and when Beth had really big hair, but it's shaped my view of Scripture and faith in a lot of ways, so I was anxious to get started last night.  While I was watching the intro video session, I really just wanted to say to the screen, "Hello, Beth. It's good to see you again."  I've never met Beth before in person but I've met her countless times on the pages of her books, studies, and her blog, and it was good to see her again last night, to hear her deep Texas/Arkansas accent.  Her studies are always rich and rewarding, full of Scripture, grounded in its truth, and at times funny as can be.

What I think I look forward to more than anything in this transition back to life in Ohio is this time spent every Tuesday with women in this small group and then Wednesday nights with a mixed age/gender/marital status group that builds on the pastor's Sunday teachings.  I think a vast majority of people in my generation miss out on the value of multi-generational groups.  We always want to be with people our own age because that's safe, but people our own age haven't lived life any further than we have most of the time.  Not say that our own peer groups aren't vital - they certainly are.  But they come with different advantages and viewpoints than of those who have a few more adventures and experiences under their belts.  There's something to be said for spending time with people who have been down the road, miles ahead of you, and who typically know way more than you do.  That was one of the greatest gifts for me in college and the years since was to be mentored by someone older than me, to spend time listening to her words of wisdom. 

My dear friend, Myrt, pulled me aside last night and said she didn't want me to feel like she had railroaded me into coming to her small group, thinking that maybe I would like to be around people my own age.  Myrt is maybe in her 80s and is one of the neatest people I know, but I looked at her and said, "Myrt, the last thing I need is a singles group or a young adult group.  I've had enough of those in my lifetime."  I'm not anti-twenty-somethings, I think I've just spent my life gravitating toward older people.  Maybe they have more stories to tell and maybe they know how to tell them better?  I don't rightly know.
 
But there's always that moment when I feel a little out of sorts at introductions for small groups, regardless of age.  Women inevitably introduce themselves according to their marital status and the number of children they have.  "My name is Susy Q and I'm married with 3 kids."  Nobody go up in arms - I'm not saying that being defined by your husband and children is a bad thing, but I always feel this need to spice up introductions and somehow say something like, "I'm Courtney, and I don't have a ten-year plan and kids scare the living daylights out of me."  I don't think I'm brave enough to try such an introduction yet, though.

Maybe someday I'll get the gumption.