THE MORAL OF THE STORY

Cindy Trane Christeson

‘God is by your side. He is the friend who will go with you. He will

ease your hurt and bring you contentment. He will never leave you. He is

waiting with open arms.’

-- Susan Miller

We laughed long and hard. Some of the women laughed so hard they

started crying. Two young women laughed with such belly laughs that

everyone near them started giggling as well. We never heard the original

joke, but it didn’t matter. The fun and laughter were delightfully

contagious.

I turned around and saw that one of the girls had fallen on the floor

laughing. She was so doubled over in hysterics that it took awhile until

she could get back up to her seat. “I can’t remember when I’ve laughed so

much,” one woman said to me. “It feels wonderful.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I said. “The food was great, but

after all that laughing, I feel like I’ve been nourished deep within my

soul.”

There were about 50 or 60 of us women eating at round tables together,

and we all enjoyed hearty laughter, as well as hearty meals.

A few hours later, we were all crying. There were several times over

the weekend when we shared struggles and tears and passed around boxes of

tissues until they ran out. Then we passed around rolls of toilet paper.

“I can’t tell you how great it feels to get these feelings and tears

out,” a woman said while hugging another. “I’ve heard of a cleansing

breath, well, this was a cleansing cry.”

I was part of a women’s church retreat last weekend. Even though I

didn’t know the women ahead of time, I felt instantly connected to them,

especially when we started singing worship songs to God.

Practically everyone had extra challenges and obstacles that almost

prevented them from going on the retreat. In fact, some women admitted

that they were about to cancel their reservation but felt that God wanted

them there. It also seemed as if everyone had gone through unusually hard

and painful times recently, and we all seemed to feel emotionally

fragile.

Over the weekend we had different opportunities to share our highs and

lows, and then to prayerfully turn those mixed emotions over to God. I

was impressed with everyone’s honesty and vulnerability.

“I am so confused about life right now, I just need to hear from God

and be with other women who can help me,” one woman said. “And I need to

pray and sing.”

Pray and sing we did, and as time went on, we saw some prayers

answered and we all felt lighter as we lifted our hearts and voices to

God. It became increasingly clear that God had kept the reservation open

for each woman there and had special messages to communicate to each and

every one. It was clear that he was waiting for us with open arms, and

hugged us each of us repeatedly through the other women.

It’s great when we can get away from our daily routines, spend time

with special friends and focus on God. But it’s even greater that we can

connect with God any time, anywhere. Not only is he waiting with open

arms, he has a standing reservation with your name on it.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

cindy@onthegrow.comf7 or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.