Why are you involved in WMU? What first drew you in? I can’t tell you my why without introducing you to a couple of my friends.
The first time I met my friend Judith, she gave me a big hug. I felt welcomed and accepted by her before I really even knew her. Judith lets me call her Naana, the Navajo word for grandmother. She was a missionary in New Mexico for years, and she tells the best stories.
Judith is a bit “spirited”. She’s not exactly what I would call a rule follower. The truth is, she treats every single person she meets as if the most important thing about them is that they are created and loved by God. Everything else is secondary. If she breaks a few rules in the process, I don’t think she cares.
Judith is the one most likely to show love to the outcast. If you don’t have your life together, Judith is the one who will sit beside you. When you are unlovable and struggling, Judith doesn’t just point you to Jesus. She will walk with you until you get to Him.
My friend Courtney has a lot in common with Judith. She’s kind, funny, loving, and she doesn’t care about appearances. Like Judith, she will break the rules if that’s what it takes to love her neighbor.
Courtney is drawn to the people who are most likely to be forgotten in society. She goes out of her way to love the poor, the refugee, the trafficking victim, the abused. If you sit and talk with her, she will always steer the conversation in the direction of Christ’s love.
These two women epitomize WMU to me. They are both, first and foremost, disciples of Jesus. They take the Great Commission personally and seriously. They fulfill it in different ways, but they both live their lives in a way that plainly and boldly points directly to Jesus.
My friends are like the women in WMU’s early history. They love Jesus more than they love status or privilege. They value Jesus’ love more than the opinions of others, and they aren’t afraid to break the rules.
Why am I involved in WMU? Because women like Judith and Courtney welcome me and accept me. They are my family, my community. I see the way they constantly look for ways to love people the way Jesus did, and I’m drawn to that. They help me see Christ. They help me know how to be more like Him.
What’s your why? Join the WMU Foundation on social media during the month of December as we discuss our why. If you’re not on social media, write to us and tell us why you or your WMU group is involved in WMU. We may use your response in an upcoming article or feature it on social media.
Written by Candice Lee, Marketing Director for the WMU Foundation.