"Sugar and spice and everything nice."

I'm just back from a Girls' Weekend. I shared it with over one hundred of my close girlfriends, a couple of token men, and a whole bunch of teens and kids.
We were all housed at the small United Methodist University in Missouri. We stayed in their dorms and ate in their college cafeteria. I've attended this event almost every summer for the past 20 years or so, and I keep going because it's always a wonderful adventure.
I went for the very first time because my Aunt Anna invited me. She had been asked to be a Study Leader on the subject of "India". It was fun and since that first time I have gone, not only as a student, but also as a class leader, a work shop presenter, and for a couple of years, I was the Event Leader.
Why do I go? Well, it's not because of the food. College cafeteria food is, at its best, just okay. It's not because a college dorm room is as comfortable as a five star hotel. Believe me,it's not. A twin bed with a plastic mattress cover and a two bedroom/shared bath suite, is not the Ritz Carleton!
I go, because as a Christian, I never want to stop learning. I never want to say that I am too old and too tired to work for the Lord. Ten years from now, I may have to pack my walker and a breathing machine, but I plan to be there.
This weekend, I missed my soft comfortable bed. I missed my gourmet coffee with the half and half. I had to share a bathroom with 3 other women. But I prayed, sang, smiled and shed a few tears of happiness with the Girls, and I loved every minute of it.
Amen.