As the nuns walked into the room to the music the crowd began to laugh!  It was our annual Valentine event for the widows and single gals with over 200 gathered.  The first "Nun" that entered the room was a man, our friend Gerry, all in his black habit and headdress.  He was followed by three other "Nuns" who also were in similar dress.  "I will follow Him " from the movie " Sister Act " was playing as they took their places.  Gerry immediately went to the keyboard to pretend to play the piano while the gals stayed on the stage.  Giggles all over the room became louder in expectation and yet wonderment of what those on stage would do next!  After the slow sedate intro, the girls dropped a panel of sequins and bling and started dancing with expressions that you don 't usually find in a convent.

 

As the song progressed, Gerry put energy into his playing as well as Sue, Becky and Brenda into their lip sync!  All of a sudden, our "Nun" named Sue surprised us by lifting her robe to show us her knee-high stockings and her cute little knees!  The assembly of widows and friends began to squeal and laugh!  What a fun event as every "He ' s My Valentine" event for eight years has been!  (LINK to Valentine NUNS) 

 

Valentine's Day is one of the hardest holidays for widows with which to deal.  Many miss their mates and find it 's a reminder they are alone.  Widowhood just by the death of their husband is the fastest growing demographic in the world.  In the United States, we have over 13 million widows!  In Knox County, we have an estimated 20,000 which is 11% of our population.  Across the United States, at least half of widows 65 or older live on $500 a month or less for everything they need!  This percentage of widows does not take in to account divorce, abandonment or any other circumstances where women find themselves alone and in need. When I was visiting the Dream Center in Los Angeles the Director said their "widows" were the women whose husbands were in prison or had abandoned them to gangs or drugs. I remember one night where their teams went out on the streets with roses to hand out to the lonely and empty prostitutes to tell them of Jesus ' love for them. 

 

Jesus reached out to the woman at the well in John chapter four who felt rejected and alone.  He offered her Living Water that would quench her thirst for things that would not satisfy.  It so shifted her life that she left her valuable water pot and ran into the city to tell of what she had found!  No matter the cause of our loss or the reason we are alone, Jesus can fill that empty place in such a way that He gives fresh purpose and meaning to life!

 

That 's why year after year we celebrate Him as our Valentine and invite ladies to taste and see how good He is!  Lives are refreshed and encouraged as we see what we have, (not what we don 't have)!  Fresh purpose comes to women as they meet others that have drank of the Living Water that they now too experience.  When they leave they have new hope in their heart, a crate of groceries in their car, and probably a door prize from the many donated!  She may not meet a Nun in knee highs this year at our event, but I guarantee that she will have fun, surprises and a time in which she is loved on!

 

Our theme this year is "His Banner Over Me is Love "!  Join us as a widow or single gal February 10th at Rothchilds in Knoxville, from 11 am to 2 pm.  (Seating starts at 10 am).  Register by February 5th at www.annasgate.org or call 865-803-5445.  Tickets are $20 a person and a table of 10 is only $150.  Consider sponsoring a widow to go or buy a table for 10 to attend. (If you donate online, please put a sponsorship memo under prayer request.) Widows partial and full Scholarships are available for those in need. Businesses or ministries sponsoring a table are welcome to put a small representation of their organization on the table for the ladies and their guests.  (LINK to   Valentine event on annasgate.org)

 

Widows are here with a purpose and with an assignment!  God hears their cry and will establish their territory (Ex 22:23, Pro 15:25)! Families, businesses, churches, cities, and nations can be changed through the prayers of widows!  The woman (or widow) at the well brought her whole city to the Lord!  And according to history became an evangelist as well as three of her sisters and two of her sons!  She at first felt rejected and without value but when Jesus filled her with His life, she took the Gospel to a thirsty continent, Africa!  Come drink from Him with us February 10th ... and you don 't have to wear knee-highs!