The First Official Fan Club

I don't know if you realize this, but Along Came the Bird is a little over a year old now.  I started the blog in July 2010 but didn't really start posting regularly until September.  It's pretty exciting to see how far it's come in just a year.

I think one sign of a successful blog is the formation of a fan club.  I'm not talking about the number of followers or the statistics showing how many times a blog is viewed.

I'm talking about a Fan Club.  A group of people who gather together on a regular basis, read a blog and pray.

And I've got one.

Aren't you jealous?

My fan club is called Friends For Women and here's a picture of them:

In little Baytown, Texas, at Memorial Baptist Church, every Sunday morning, my Mamaw gathers with her Sunday School class. (That's my Mamaw - middle row, second from the right)

Among the items for discussion?

Along Came the Bird.

My mother periodically prints out my posts and mails them to Mamaw.  She then selects a few and takes them with her to Sunday School.

These sweet ladies who are all in their 70's and 80's (though you'd never know because they all look so stinkin' cute!) listen to my Mamaw read any blog posts that she has brought along with her that morning. And if she doesn't bring any, they are sure to ask after Lily and want to know about her latest adventures.  And then they pray for me.  In fact, I bet there's not a Sunday that goes by that I'm not prayed for by these ladies.

That is a fan club, people.

And I'm not the only lucky recipient of these ladies' love.

No, these gals are the very picture of lifelong friendship.  They are sweet and nurturing to one another. They take care of each other, look out for one another, and take time to be together. They visit each other when they are sick.  They make regular visits to the hospital and nursing homes.

In fact, every Thursday morning, a few of them head out to Starbucks.  Each of them gets a drink to go, plus one extra.  Then they head to the nursing home to give that extra drink to Eula Lee, a lovely lady who is still a member of their class despite the fact that she can no longer make it to church.  They sit with her, visiting and sipping hot coffee.

Of course, I would love for them to change the name of their class to something like, say, "The Birdies" or "The Bird Lovers".  And some matching t-shirts would be super - "We Love The Bird". Can't you just picture that?

While that might be a nice touch, I think the name of their class is perfectly appropriate for this caring, loving, precious group of ladies:  Friends for Women.  The only thing they could do to make it even more accurate would be call it "Friends for Women for Life".

Because that is exactly what they are.

And that right there is a lesson all of us can learn from these ladies.

This weekend, take some time to slow down a bit.  Pick up some goodies and go visit a friend or two. Or send a card.  An email.  Give them a ring on the phone.  Let a friend know that you love them and think about them.  Take care of each other.  And pray for one another.

And to the Friends for Women class at Memorial Baptist in Baytown - Thank you for loving me and my family.  Thank you for caring about my sweet Lily Bird.  And thank you for your prayers.  But most of all, thank you for being a friend for life to my Mamaw.  Give her a big hug for me.  She's a good one, that Maggie.

Now.  How about making me an honorary member of the class??