Cathy Jo

(Can you see the aura?)

Have you ever known a person that glowed? I mean really glowed like a huge spotlight was shining down on them? A person that just radiated love and joy and peace and warmth? Well, if you haven't, you really need to meet Cathy Jo.

Cathy Jo is a teacher of the Bible. She knows the Bible like most people know their childrens' birthdays, social security numbers, telephone numbers and addresses. Ask her any question about the Bible…..I dare you. Yes, she has a special gift and she shares it with her "students" almost every day of her life. She takes no credit for this abundance of biblical knowledge but gives all the credit to God, referring to herself as only a vessel.

I was fortunate enough to meet Cathy Jo about ten years ago when we were going through a family crisis. I had finally run into something in my life that I couldn't fix on my own and it had taken me to my knees. I needed a power greater than myself and I didn't know where to turn. Gee. Well, some very devoted, caring and conniving friends of mine (you both know who you are) suggested we start a Bible Study. "Great", I thought, "like that was going to fix up my life and everything would be all hunky-dory again." Let's just say that my knowledge of the Bible was very limited and I had a very dim view of those that truly believed its every word and led their lives accordingly.

Enter Cathy Jo. I knew there was something special about her but I couldn't quite put my finger on it right away. So I attended the weekly meetings to show my dear, sweet friends how much I appreciated their love and support but I was very skeptical that a weekly Bible Study could "fix" anything in my life……W R O N G. Cathy Jo had this amazing knack of making the Bible come to life for me. I had never been able to make any sense of it before.

Well, needless to say, it wasn't Cathy Jo or the Bible Study that actually reversed the crisis and made things all better. But during this process, I finally learned to trust in God and put my life in His hands. Whew! That made all the difference in the world! News flash: I wasn't supposed to be the "fixer"! I NEVER WAS!!! What a relief! But it took a beautiful lady from Kansas with an amazing gift from God to help teach me this.

Cathy Jo has been teaching our little Bible Study for ten years now. And she teaches hundreds of others in Bible Studies throughout our city week after week. This is her calling. Not in Africa or China or some unknown village in South America but in good ol', mostly Republican, "Heartland of America" Oklahoma City. And, boy howdy, do we need her here! She has never married or had children of "her own" but she has an entire flock of little, wandering, often lost sheep that she can call Family. Matter of fact, she probably has the biggest Family of anyone I know.

God has blessed Cathy Jo with an amazing gift. She's very humble and refuses to take any of the credit, but, I swear to you, she actually glows. God bless her heart.

Fondly,

Leslie