We had just moved into our new home here in California after living in Maine all of our lives. My husband has an amazing new job here, and the schools are excellent for our two children. Although the desert creates breathtaking, picturesque sunsets, and the weather is always beautiful, our new house wasn't really "home" to me ... after-all California will never be Maine.
My husband Peter suggested that I join a womens group through our new church. I wasn't really interested because at worship, I seemed to be the youngest person there by about 30 years. I found myself wondering how I would ever make friends again, like all of the friends I had at home. One afternoon I noticed my neighbor, Henrietta, picking the oranges off of the tree in my front yard. I went outside to introduce myself. After a few minutes Henrietta and I went into her house for some coffee and crackers. She sat with me and listened to me explain how homesick I was for Maine.
Very gently she put it in her own words that I'm like a kid in a new school, all I needed was to make one good friend, and everything else would fall into place. I went with Henrietta to worship on Saturday, it was a contemporary service with guitars, and drums, and singers, nothing like I had ever seen before. I looked around, and it was all families our age. The kids made lots of friends during the fellowship hour; the Pastor introduced himself when he saw Peter and me with Henrietta. "More sheep for the flock?" he said to Henrietta "You are a one woman welcoming committee! It turns out; our neighbor seeks out the new families in our congregation and introduces them to people in our church community. I would like to nominate Henrietta for your Steward of the Month award ... she is recruiter for God!