Breathing a Sigh of Relief!

Today was the last session of my women's Bible study. I have to say that I breathed a sigh of relief on the way home today, as if a huge weight was lifted off of me. Next week is the end-of-the-year brunch, and then it's totally done! No more crazy Wednesdays! No more crazy Tuesday nights trying to get everything ready to go in the morning! I have loved the mother's groups and the Bible studies I've gone to over the years back in California, so hating this one took my by surprise. But it's done, now. And I've learned my lesson - don't share too much, even when asked, with people you don't really know.

I didn't go last week due to my friend Anni being in town, but felt compelled (convicted, really) to attend today. One of the women in the group was bemoaning the end of the semester, and how she'd have a void in her week now. I didn't agree. All I felt was pure glee! (But I kept it to myself). Over all it went pretty well today. I managed to keep my mouth shut during most of the study, which wasn't really a study at all. We brought pictures of our family, and then talked about how this study affected us. I didn't really like "Lies Women Believe". When one of the leaders asked me how this study affected me, my first thought was "Oh, gosh, where should I start?" With the fact that the Biblical truths were often skewed in this book? That the author mocks the women she is trying to change? Or that the marriage and family advice was written by a single woman who is not now and has not ever been married and has no children? My favorite parts? Let me just spit out a few:

• The advice on how, if I should have to remove myself and/or my children from my husband if staying with him puts us in physical danger, that I "can-and must-maintain an attitude of reverence for [my] husband's position". I'm not sure I could maintain an attitude of reverence if the situation is so bad that I'm forced to leave.
• How family planning methods are akin to abortion.
• How the author compared her mother to Mary, mother of Jesus.
• How I should never take action if my husband is passive.
• How women entering the workforce/having a career has more or less lead to the decline of the modern family, and how a career woman's children now only eat frozen or fast food, and why many women are on welfare.

There is a lot of good in the book. It's just highly overshadowed by the author's strange interpretations of scripture, and how she presents her beliefs as facts. She's extremely convinced she's right, is fairly condescending, and isn't the best writer. One of my leaders told us several times that we weren't reading the book right. If everyone in this study is reading the same book and everyone is wondering why the author cited certain things, then it's time to fire the editor and get one that can decipher the author's intent and rewrite all the passages we interpreted incorrectly in a way that everyone can understand! As satisfying as it would be to tear up the book and shred it in my shredder, I think I'll just put it in the recycling bin next week. I usually donate books, but this one shouldn't be read by anyone else.

Then there was the whole anger management issue. That confused me, annoyed me, and threw my for a loop. I was so upset at the comments that I considered not returning. After much prayer I returned, only to have the same things said yet again, but in different words. It was so odd that people I don't really know, who don't really know me, feel the need to try and mend my situation. These people have very little idea what my last year has been like. Saying that I uprooted my family, moved 4 states away, and have lived in 3 houses in the last year sounds a lot easier than it really was. As far as I could tell, no one in my group was learning everything about their new place of residence from the ground up. I might have been the only person in our group who has ever moved to another state with children in tow. Everybody has bad days, but their comments were uncalled for. I do not have anger management issues that need therapy. And "anger" is not the reason I caught a lot of colds this winter (which amazing decreased once I stopped working in the nursery!). I can tell you this - I will never take another class taught by either one of these group leaders again. Ever. 

So today was our last, glorious day! All that's left is the brunch. Let's hope I survive it, since I wanted to run screaming from the last one! Despite my best efforts, I sometimes I think I'm not as much of a people person as I'd really like to be.