As a wife and a mother of 5, Miriam is no stranger to a woman’s journey in life. Along with her husband, Haim, she has faced many challenges and difficulties along the way, allowing God to create a caring and sensitive heart inside her towards other women.
Being called to minister to women is a very special calling because God cherishes His daughters more than we can imagine. We see time and time again in the Bible, how the Lord expresses a special and deep love for women, whom He made to be life bearers.
Women not only bear life, they also nurture and cultivate it, giving it one-of-a-kind gentle yet fierce strength that reflects God’s own character.
Having to raise 5 kids, Miriam has met so many women along her journey, from all walks of life: young and old; single, married, divorced, or widowed. The Lord has developed in her a special sensitivity towards other women, but also a deep passion and calling to reach out and lift up those that are struggling while trying to carry the burden of the world on their fragile shoulders. Miriam has seen so many tears, pain, and suffering when she encountered women, that her calling to reach specifically women became even clearer.
When Miriam first approached me, as the pastor, expressing the desire to help and minister to women, I knew she was the absolute right person for that. And so our monthly women’s services were initiated.
We discovered there are so many women that need other nurturing women to sustain and lift them up. They are willing to come to women’s meetings more eagerly than to congregation services. There is something incredibly comforting for them in being among their fellow sisters. Their hearts open up as never before, and God truly works in their hearts when they come to be together during those monthly women’s gatherings.
These meetings have become invaluable to so many women, that every time there are new ladies joining in, wanting to be a part of that feminine circle. Each meeting is arranged as sort of a celebration, making it a special occasion for them, to know they are special, valuable and worthy. They are encouraged, lifted up, prayed for, as well as taught from the Bible about God’s love and destiny for each and every one of them
Currently, about 20% of them only attend women’s meetings, which is why they are so crucial. Because gathering among women has brought so many of them to open up and start attending home groups, then weekly congregation services.
Nathalie is a perfect example of the transformative power of women’s ministry. She was attending our monthly women’s meeting for a few months when things got complicated in her family life. Miriam suggested she came to our Shabbat services, that God could have something special in store for her. At first, Nathalie was a bit hesitant, not sure if she would have to open up and speak about her life with other people. She let go of her doubt and just came. Then the Lord also came through for her! The message she heard that week really pierced her heart, the joint congregational prayer, the atmosphere of togetherness made such an impact on her that she immediately wanted to come back next week.
The fire has been ignited in Nathalie. Despite being a single mother of a little girl, she cannot stay away. She eagerly attends every meeting, every service, every homegroup. She simply cannot get enough of the Lord. Also, she noticed it became easier to forgive people, life became easier in a way to bear, despite the difficulties. Nathalie was able to let go and forgive her ex-husband who left her and her daughter.
That is the power of women coming together for women. There’s healing and transformation in it, there’s something unique and precious that God does through women’s ministry. It starts with women’s meetings and overflows into home groups they start also attending, until they finally join our congregational weekly services, finding their place there in the Lord and among the rest of the believers.
There’s a beautiful fruit of salvation that comes out of ministering to women, and we see a special anointing on that service.
