by Mary C. Findley

Over the weekend I gave a talk at a small church women’s event at Trinity Baptist Church, Tulsa, OK. The organizers invited three speakers. One is a fine artist and a very accomplished painter. Carlene Wallace spoke first, about being bewildered by modern art standards. She said some very good things about how people pay outrageous amounts for things that are not traditional art. It is crazy what modern art can be like. Her philosophy is to capture memories faithfully. She displayed a small painting of a nature scene. A woman came up to ask about it, saying the scene looked familiar. When the artist told her where she had captured it from, the woman said that had been her husband’s favorite fishing spot. She bought the painting as a remembrance of her husband, who had died two years earlier. Someone commented that she had spoken to this widow and was struck by how sad she was still about her husband’s passing, and that she had been so grateful to find a faithful memory of a place her husband had loved. It was such a sweet, comforting thing. The second speaker, Rie Hanby, told about God’s providence in her life. She has been a missionary in different countries and was greatly blessed by that service. However, other instances of providence she mentioned did not seem to be so positive. A divorce. Breast cancer. Yet she showed how God worked each time to bring glory to Himself and blessing to her. Many people were blessed and encouraged, myself included, to be reminded that God does not work the way we wish or expect sometimes, but it is always providential, because that’s what the word means. The working of God is always providential.

I was the third speaker. The first thing I said was that the second speaker, Rie Hanby, should have been last, because what she said was what needed to be remembered. However, God worked it out so that I was last. I spoke about Findley Family Video Publications. I told them a little about our history, our books, and our plans. I shared a few funny stories, like how I met “Captain Weird” and married him. (I’ll share the speech in a podcast in a day or two.) I was also able to spend some time sharing our books at a display table. I was surprised by the amount of interest. People wanted to know more about the books. Quite a few bought some. They were excited and even wanted autographs. It was a good day. I was grateful for the opportunity.

It was the best women’s event I’ve ever been to. It was simple, not too structured, and very sweet fellowship. Below are a couple more pictures of activities — brunch, knitting, and decoupage. Good times!