CBS for some may mean a television network, but for many women in Clark County it means so much more. It means Community Bible Study.

For these women who have been a part of this wonderful program this year and years past, they know there is no way to truly explain to anyone the blessings that have been derived from this program.

I can only speak for myself because each person gained a different blessing by being a part of Community Bible Study. If I truly put down on paper all the blessings I received this year, it would take up many columns.

I dedicated myself to being a part of the teaching program for the preschool children ages 4 to 5. I taught a class to these children on Friday mornings. I did not know one child or their parents before this year began. I can tell you I was amazed at what I gained from doing this.

I learned to love these kids so much. I watched as they grew immensely from being scared little boys and girls at the beginning of the year, who by the end of the year were willing to pray aloud in class and ask for prayer requests. They were happy to blurt out the answers to the Bible stories and began looking forward to coming to Bible study each week. These kids will remain in my heart for the rest of my life.

By accepting this class, it meant I would be required to have an extra day of the week on Thursday to do the weekly Bible study, prayer time and planning for the next day for our classes. It was such a joy to work with women who were so dedicated to the Lord, and I also grew to love these women whom I had never met until this year. These are women who have such a capacity for love not only of their Heavenly Father but also of mankind. They are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the community.

However, the main blessing I received was the studying of the book of Genesis. I think I wrote about our studying Romans last year and how much I learned. This year was no different. We took the book of Genesis from the beginning to the end from September through April and digressed with many opinions and ended up digesting what the Bible told us. I learned so much about God’s unconditional love and how he used ordinary people to change the paths of their lives to teach them about unconditional love. I feel I have grown in this respect.

I have learned through Community Bible Study. I now read the Bible in a completely different way than I ever did before. I am now not just reading for the sake of reading, but trying to digest it as I read. I find I am getting so much more from it by doing this. Through this study of Genesis, I have learned how so much and the rest of the Bible seems to fall into place more easily.

Community Bible Study does mean you will study. At first, I groaned at the thought of doing this, but it was not long before I found myself going ahead one or two lessons to learn more. In other words, I loved what I was learning and I also learned I wanted complete quietness while I was doing my lessons.

You do a lesson each week and then on Fridays you meet with other ladies in your groups to discuss what you have learned. It is there you hear so many ways that others gleaned from the same passage of scripture, and that is where you learn to grow. By hearing other perspectives, you learn so much. It is with these women you will make lifelong friends. The core group I was in last year will remain in my heart forever and so will this year’s groups.

If I have made you interested in being a part of CBS next year, all you have to do is come as a new member next year or sign up this year. Next year’s classes will be on Thursdays instead of Fridays.

I am looking so forward to next year and learning more about the Bible. I have read the Bible all my life and thought I knew a lot about it, I have found out how little I knew and am so hungry to learn more.

Sue Staton is a Clark County native who grew up in the Kiddville area. She is a wife, mother and grandmother who is active in her church, First United Methodist Church, and her homemakers group, Towne and Country Homemakers.