I waited until now to report on the women’s special day held last Saturday at our associational office. Organizers Becky Hughes, Kathy Frates, and Terry Dickson called it “Spa Day Getaway” and invited all the ministry women and ministry wives from our churches they could locate. They ended up with 70 ladies present and met from 9 am until 3 pm. Back at home, the dads were keeping the kids.

Here is Becky’s report, abbreviated slightly.

“Spa Day Getaway was a smashing success. Our last number of total attendance was 70 women! We turned the Baptist Building into a high end spa for a day. The pastors who meet there each week wouldn’t have recognized the place. Nor would they have been terribly comfortable with the nail polishing, hand massaging, and all around feminity that abounded, I imagine. Only one man was brave enough to enter the Spa Day, our own Dr. Joe came by around lunchtime and read a beautiful poem he picked out for the ladies….”

“The ministers’ wives who attended enjoyed the day so much. I could watch as their precious faces relaxed, some of the tension melted away, and they started to really enjoy themselves.”

“The Spa Day idea was born months ago, and lots of hard work and prayer went into the day. Many individuals from four different states and many churches pitched in to make the day a wonderful treat for some ministry wives who have been through the wringer. The Arkansas Baptists donated funds that made the day possible. Fairview Heights Baptist Church in Virginia sent lots of fun spa stuff for the ladies to play with and take home. Celebration Church provided encouragers, a worship leader, and professional counselor. A massage therapist volunteered her time and worked nonstop throughout the day to give the ministry wives some meaningful and therapeutic touch. Riverside Church provided a talented lady who designed the menu and prepared the food, and several other women to make the food and spa treatments a success. Metairie Baptist loaned decorations, as did Riverside and Celebration.”

“Of course, Christy Sallee’s line of spa products, ‘Kiki’s Suds’ was a big treat. Each attendee received her own ‘vacation in a box’ that we used throughout the day. As we were planning Spa Day Getaway, we wanted to provide spa treatments for the ladies, but we wanted something more special than what they could get themselves at any store. So I called my friend Christy and asked if she was interested in dreaming something up for these ladies. Of course she was. Kiki’s Suds has been a longtime dream of hers. She agreed to create some products especially for us….”

“As the women arrived, they were greeted with snacks and coffee. We could see they weren’t quite sure what to expect, but as the day got underway, they relaxed more and more. Laughter, tears, hugs, and smiles were abundant. Some hadn’t seen one another in a long time. Woman after woman approached me to gush a thank you, telling me how much she needed this day.”

“Katie Boudreaux led off with worship, including a special theme song for the day ‘Do Not Fear’ taken directly out of Zephaniah 3:14. “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!’

“Then Kathy Frates performed her first character, Betty Lou Macaunahey, pastor’s wife at 1950’s Baptist Church, complete with pillbox hat and matching purse. Kathy did a character for each session, including Liz, a resentful music minister’s wife who dropped all her cares at Spa Day, and Consuela Maria Chiquita Hernandez Gonzalez, a well-meaning but slightly misdirected minister’s wife.”

“Our three sessions were REST, where we discussed letting ourselves rest, laying down our burdens, and leaving them there, or living a life of rest in God; REJUVENATE, where we discussed the benefits of relationships, rejoicing, and reality. And RECOVER, the healing qualities of facing up to our hurts, forgiveness, and flaunting the treasures God brings about in our lives through painful experiences. At the end of each session, the ladies spent time in discussion around their tables.”

“Throughout the day, ladies spent time in the spa room, where they could receive a massage, an encouraging prayer time, and a hand treatment. They also had access to Michelle, a counselor and pastor’s wife, who could provide professional advice for any major hurts the ladies were carrying. We wrapped the day with a quiet reflection as Katie sang our theme song again, some special moments of prayer, and then more hugs and tears as we said goodbye.”

Becky ends her report with these words: “For now, I have a satisfied smile, sort of like the cat that ate the canary. I am overjoyed at the privilege I had of speaking to these women, looking in their beautiful, sometimes teary eyes, and cheering them on. I know well the burdens they carry and it is wonderfully satisfying to know that Jesus loved on them through me and Kathy and Terry, and all the women who were there to minister to those who usually do the ministering.”

Rebecca Hughes’ website is called “Woman on the Edge.” She is pianist at Riverside Baptist Church in River Ridge, a New Orleans suburb (where I live). She is married to Matthew Hughes, the church’s minister of music. She is a writer and a singer and a mother and someone you would enjoy knowing.