This past week I had THREE different opportunities to be in the company of Wonder Women. Women whose unique brilliance shone bright, simply by their presence in the room. Women whose compassion showed in the way they welcomed others, embracing old friends and warmly connecting to new people. Women whose commitment appeared in how they intentionally engaged with others, truly listening, seeing, and valuing the other.

There’s just something powerful that I see over and over in a gathering of women–the laughter, the connection, the kindness, the willingness to show up for one another. A room full of Wonder Women.

The first gathering was via Zoom, a group of women lead pastors that I was graciously invited to help shepherd as they form a Peer Learning Group. In every face in every square, I saw glimpses of their gifts, their calling, their perseverance, their love for God and God’s people so apparent even in our first meeting. Women who pastor in faith traditions that are late to the “and your daughters shall prophesy” party are a courageous kind. There are layers upon layers upon layers of realities women pastors face that may not be apparent on the surface. What a privilege and honor to get to walk and learn alongside these Wonder Women as they keep following God’s call on their lives, step by step.

The second gathering was a Women’s Bible Study at the church where I now have the privilege and honor of serving as Minister of Missions. The church has a rich and meaningful history of Bible studies oriented to women through the years. So there was serious positive energy about getting to re-start this ministry after a long, hard pandemic pause.

About 30 women gathered around tables in our Fellowship Hall and several others are signed up to join us. As I looked around the room last Wednesday night I again saw the wonder of women who show up for one another. Women who know hardship and pain, who bear losses carved on their bones, whose joy and goodness rise in a thousand ways. Women whose commitment to deepening their relationship with God and one another is reflected in their willingness to set aside this time to slow down and open their hearts. It’s perfectly fitting that we are learning about lesser known women in scripture who followed God’s call and changed the world. Wonder Women studying Wonder Women.

The third gathering was the Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina Symposium and 40th Anniversary Celebration. It was my first BWIMNC gathering after six and a half years out of state, where such an organization didn’t exist, much to my disappointment and grief. A small group of women in ministry in the town where we served in West Virginia tried to gather quarterly and it was always a gift to be together, but it was hard work to make it happen. I had several Wonder Women there who anchored me in stormy times–and still do. They truly helped carry me through some of the hardest days in ministry I have ever experienced.

But having an organization like BWIMNC to organize, advocate, educate, and support us as we together follow God’s call is priceless. No one has to add corralling calendars and emails and people for a gathering onto our already overflowing ministry–and usually motherhood–plates, because BWIMNC is doing all the heavy lifting, executive functioning, and execution for us. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW! And Ka’thy Gore Chappell, one of Wonder-est of Wonder Women, and her team do faithful and fantastic work in ministering to us.

Everywhere I looked in that room–Wonder Women. So much creativity, compassion, determination, loving-kindness, wisdom, and a bevy other blessings filled that space. Each woman bearing scars and tending wounds, even as they honor the scars and minister to the wounds of those they serve. Each one profoundly gifted and shaped for what the “such a time–and place–as this” that God has called them to in this moment. Each one with questions, struggles, stories, and testimonies to God’s faithfulness and learning things the hard way.

There was no “ideal” woman I met this past week. They don’t exist. Yet we were all ideal in the sense that we were willing to show up, to listen, to be changed, to honor what God is doing in and among us.

I want to spend more time this weekend giving thanks for the Wonder Women I met. And I want to spend more time in the days to come seeing–really seeing–the Wonder Women around me…and letting them know how wondrous they are, just by being who God God has created and is calling them to be.