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September 26, 2003
“I needed to hear that encouragement this morning!”
“Her advice was so practical – those are ideas I can really use.”
“I’m inspired – I want to do what she does.”
I heard these comments while milling about after our large group session of a recent Spiritual Spa morning. As I maneuvered through car sets with sleeping infants, strollers with curious toddlers, and smiles on familiar faces of other moms, I was also encouraged by the words just shared by our guest speaker.
 The speaker this morning was a seasoned mother of five, the eldest of which is a small group coach for this session of the Spa. Each week the speaker and topic changes, and the response to this particular message seemed universally positive. She shared the triumph of having spent at least fifteen minutes with the Lord every day for the last 27 years. She started this routine when her oldest child was only 3 and managed to continue through all the distractions that come with raising small children.
It is this type of encouragement and advice that has been a standard element of the Spiritual Spa over the past several sessions. Women come to connect with other moms, be spiritually refreshed, and gain perspective on their current stage of life. While our children are being cared for by loving Spa staff and volunteers, we share a large group time of worship and teaching/sharing, followed by about an hour of small group time. The groups are named after common luxuries of a physical spa (ours is the Massage Group, with Pedicure, Milk Bath, and others consisting of other moms). We come for spiritual refreshment, so the name of our ministry suits perfectly.
The current fall session lasts 10 weeks and includes about 65 moms, enough for 8 small groups. Most groups’ members live geographically close to one another. This is to help foster community outside of our regular Thursday mornings. Our group has taken advantage of this, consistently sharing Moms Nights Out and swapping child care for work or date nights with our husbands.
 Jill Krummen, mother of two and veteran of the Spa says the weekly times of fellowship have encouraged her by “helping me feel connected and giving me an opportunity to have meaningful relationships with other Christian moms.” Bethany Peterson, new mother to a 3-month-old, agrees and adds, “The Spa has helped me prioritize my life.”
I joined the Spiritual Spa soon after our family relocated to St. Paul and returned to Woodland Hills. We had been living out of state for two years, during which time we had our first child. While the joy of becoming a mother was great and very positive, there was often an accompanying loneliness and sense of isolation in this new adventure.
I heard about the Spa during a Sunday morning service just after our second child was born and knew I needed to check it out. I soon discovered that it perfectly met the need I had sensed since becoming a mother for the first time 18 months earlier. God beautifully answered my prayers.
We come to be personally challenged in our faith but also to be encouraged and educated on how to be godly mothers to our children. Patty Carey is new to the Spa but takes the cake for the most experienced mom in our group. Patty and her husband have 7 children, ranging in age from just under 2 all the way up to 10 years old. She shared that “listening to other moms gives me a sense of motivation for what I want to do with my own kids. Seeing other moms and learning how they parent is really helpful.”
Rachel Scott has been a member of the Massage group with me since the beginning, has two young boys and leads worship during our large group session. She feels like the Spa has “challenged me to become a more conscious parent – especially making me more aware of my kids’ spiritual development and needs.” The spiritual development and nurturing of our children is a common passion among the moms of the Spa. We come to honestly share our hopes for our kids, while also feeling safe to share our failures, doubts, and frustrations.
We also recognize that, while being a mother is very consuming, it is not the only role we play. We all long to be deeply connected to our spouses and openly share how that can be difficult in the midst of raising small children. Many of us work at least part-time, and the Spa is a place where we can feel validated in our challenge to balance roles and encouraged by the effort we are putting forth with our kids. We also share our stories – how we got to where we are in life and where we hope to be in the future.
The bottom line is that deep and meaningful friendships are forming and being sustained through the Thursday morning Spiritual Spa sessions. God shows up and abundantly blesses those of us involved. We are growing together while celebrating the amazing bond of motherhood. We love Jesus, we love our families, and we love one another. The Spiritual Spa provides a place where we can consistently grow in all of those areas. I’ll take that over a physical massage any day of the week!
If you are interested in more information or how to get involved in the spring session, contact the Spiritual Spa at 651-287-3006.
article by Erica Hunt | 
