World Changing Women

It felt great to get out of the house today.  Amy reminded me our close friend, Gwen, turns another year older this week and we need to celebrate.

 I hunted in my stash for the perfect card to drop into the bag of gifts for the birthday girl.  I found a funny one with gawky women, arms around each other, typical girlfriends celebrating together!  I placed it in the cute shopping bag with items Amy collected because no one knows Gwen like Amy.  We gathered the home-baked chocolate chip cookies we made with fresh pecans and Carmel-filled chocolates which we added to the cookie dough for richness and decadence and placed them in a decorative red tin.  A perfect mid-seventy, sunny spring day counter-balanced with cool breezes heightened our mood as we drove to Sedona where Gwen lives. I balanced that shiny bright red cookie tin on my lap protecting it like it was filled with bars of gold.   

It took Gwen what seemed like forever to dig into her gift bag.  She meticulously lifted out colorful tissue-wrapped items such as handmade soaps Amy designed using a variety of her essential oils.  Hard candies of any kind put a smile on Gwen’s face and we tossed in a giant-sized Hershey bar, too, for those pick-me-up moments.  My favorite, a cute little pot with a daisy flower, danced happily to solar light when placed by the window.  Gwen carried the shiny red tin to the kitchen table where we munched on cookies with gusto and girlfriend giggles while we shared stories together.  We women and our stories!  

This is where my story gets interesting. 

Gwen and I work out together or should I say “use to” before she lost Jack at Christmas.  Now she fills her days with tying the loose ends of his business, traveling, and, of course, mourning.   Then I went in for surgery for my foot.  We will get back in the groove soon and motivate each other to good health.  But for now, we’re sedentary in our quiet spaces. 

Have you ever heard of Dress a Girl around the World?  Gwen likes to sew and retrieved a box with seventeen dresses of bright colors and sizes she’s been working on for the Sedona chapter of the organization.  During our visit, she got a call from this group to confirm a pickup of sewn dresses and a drop off of more fabric.  I reached into my purse and got my phone to photograph her handiwork before it went out for its purpose, to bless little girls.

The motto of this group believes every girl deserves at least one dress.  The mission started with two women and an idea.  One had an abundance of pillow cases and the other traveled to Uganda.  Today, this dress project reaches into 81 countries.  Dresses are sewn to a specific pattern with a label sewn into the front of the dress with hopes to deter child sex traffic.

Amy placed Gwen’s box of dresses on the dining room table and we ladies gathered in prayer.  “Lord, thank you for Gwen’s passion to sew these dresses and we ask that when each girl wears them, she will feel pretty, your love, your protection and feel cloaked in your safety.  We are heavy hearted and give you our burden for victims of child sex trafficking.  Expose this evil and apprehend the violators who cause such pain.  Send your angels to heal these little girls, body soul and spirit, and fill them with the joy of your salvation.  Thank you for hearing our prayer.”

I opened my eyes to Gwen’s tears.  We all had a good cry, hugged each other tightly and basked in the love God gives girlfriends who do life together.  These are the refreshing times which carry us back into our homes and offices; pick us up where we left off in our resolve to be world changers.  God establishes our steps to make a difference in this world whether we struggle in our bodies or mourn our losses.  Sometimes all we need is an idea. 

If you are interested in learning more about Dress a Girl around the World, you can research details here.