MOPS Meeting: May 5th

Our first meeting in May happened to fall on Cinco de Mayo, so we decided to celebrate by having breakfast burritos! MOPS provided tortillas, eggs, and drinks, while the tables brought their own toppings to add at their tables. (And some moms--okay, one mom--brought their own unique source of caffeine)
It seemed to be a fun way to have breakfast as a table instead of standing in line at the back of the room (though some tables--yes, Parakeets, I'm talking about you) shameless "borrowed" toppings from other tables.


We played a purse/diaper bag "Scavenger Hunt"--we had to come up items from a list solely from the combined contents of our table's purses and diaper bags. It was fun hearing ladies proudly shout, "Oh! I have some old french fries somewhere in here!" or "Here's a tampon!"

The theme of the meeting (all the meetings have had themes, didn't you know?) was "Simply New," so potted flowers were given as door prizes...representing new life and the newness of spring. So deep, I know.

We shared around the tables about times in our lives where we wish we could have had a "Do-over." People shared about silly things they did in high school and many ladies at our table had things they wished they could do over from their wedding days.

We also talked about our lives' highest and lowest points. So many ladies shared openly about struggling with the consequences of bad decisions or suffering with depression...thank you for being so open and honest, ladies! One table leader pointed out her observation that many of the highest points went with each lady's lowest point...how often in life, something bad can turn into us recognizing our greatest blessings.

Then we got to hear stories from the lives of some of our MOPS moms. Sandy, one of our mentors, shared about how she and her family became isolated and disillusioned through their involvement in a cult. She expressed thankfulness to God for bringing her (and her family) back into community through church and MOPS.

We then listened to Sarah, one of our MOPS moms and a former MOPS coordinator, tell about what happened in her life and to her faith when her father died. She was just 16 and said that despite her grief, she knew that she had to choose to live and to not become bitter. Through God's help and the surprise encouragement she received in a card from her father mysteriously after his death, she became strong in her faith and character.

The third story we had the privilege of hearing was from Nicole, who is a MOPS mom living in Poland. She challenged us through her story of how she struggled with unforgiveness towards the Polish people after she almost died giving birth to her first child in Poland. She and her husband both found such relief from the grouchiness they had been experiencing for years when they both let God change their hearts and forgive the doctors, the hospital staff, and even themselves.


These 3 sweet stories were followed by more glimpses into the lives of our MOPS leaders as they silently shared pieces of their lives and how they had been made new by God.

This meeting was the last one that Kaci and Misti would lead together due to Kaci being out of town for a wedding at the last MOPS meeting. What fun we had together leading you this year! We hoped you enjoyed it as much as we did!