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It was September 1999, and Beth Shadid, then 39, had recently given birth to her fifth baby, Caleb, after losing both her fourth child, Micah, at birth, and her brother, Jim, to lung cancer in 1998.
"The past year had been extremely hard for our family, with two deaths back to back," says Beth, who has three other sons now ages eight and under. "So when fall came, we were celebrating Caleb, our surprise gift of new life."
Throughout those difficult times, Beth had grown close to her neighbor Dina, a mom of three. "Dina attended both our son's funeral and my brother's memorial service," Beth says. "She was so kind and sympathetic. Our friendship really deepened, and I felt comfortable opening up to her a bit about my faith in Christ. She'd seen the strength I'd drawn from it."
Dina, who'd never attended a Bible study before, knew Beth had been involved in various women's Bible studies throughout the five years they'd lived across the street from each other. So Dina asked Beth if she was planning to join a women's Bible study that fall. "I didn't think I could possibly pack up my newborn, plus my three other active little boys, and attend a weekly study," Beth admits. "I recommended a women's Bible study at a local church in case Dina was interested in attending one on her own. Then I said, 'But I'd love it if someone got something started in our neighborhood!'"
Surprisingly, that "someone who got something started in the neighborhood" turned out to be busy mom Beth—with the able assistance of Dina. Right off the bat, Dina was so excited about the idea of bonding with other women in the neighborhood that she suggested she and Beth start their own group. Before long, Beth, who'd never envisioned herself a facilitator of a neighborhood group with her busy, growing family, became exactly that. "I'm not a teacher or leader," she admits. "I've been in church a long time and have a strong faith, and I love the idea of being able to share that with others. Yet I don't see myself as articulate, so I wouldn't naturally put myself in this position. But there's something about having come out of pain, as I had, that makes you say even more, 'Okay, God, if this is what you want me to do, there's nothing more important in life than being available to you.' As I prayed about starting a group, it felt like the right thing to do."
So Beth and Dina brainstormed ways to make a group convenient both for them and the other neighbors they hoped might join. "We decided we'd take turns meeting at each other's home every other week. We thought we could at least handle that," explains Beth. "We also decided to be casual about the whole thing and let moms bring their kids. I volunteered to check out hiring babysitters from a local Christian college so we could keep the kids in a play area in the same house."
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