Susan Booker
Luann Budd
Twenty-eight years ago, I was employed fulltime, had three pre-teen & teenage sons and was scrambling to be a wife, mother and participating member of our church. I had precious little time to devote to a ministry role, but because I had a laptop and “minute-taking skills,” I was asked to sit in on a planning meeting for a NEWIM conference. The president at the time, Ginger Bertoni, was my dear friend and I couldn’t say “no.”
Little did I know that that role would lead to many others within the organization, my favorite being a cappella worship leader at the first several years of the Springs retreat. The Lord had a hidden agenda for me, however. He knew that my life would go sideways as my children began to be wayward and that the women of NEWIM would become my strong support group, my prayer warriors and dearest of friends.
The opportunity to break away twice a year from the grief & sorrow to sing God’s praises was His way of letting me know how much he loved me and how he and they would support me in the darkest of times. Another huge lesson was that He could still use someone who had difficult family issues.
That season lasted over twenty years, and although my participation in NEWIM waned (due to other family commitments), my love for the Lord was strengthened & encouraged. My faith in him also grew regardless of the outcome. And while everyone’s story doesn’t always produce great outcomes, I am thrilled to share my favorite verse: III John 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear (and tell you) that my children are walking in the truth.”