It’s almost a year. One full year since I welcomed the first group of women to a place that fast became home. Home being a place where the heart is happy and at peace.

The MSG Hub.

Looking back at the year, emotions come flooding. How? How did it happen? That a need became a goal and a goal a stunning reality.

God.

This isn’t a story about how amazing and supreme God is, but it’ll be utterly ungrateful for me to start with anything other than acknowledging the bounty given by God.

This is a story about strength, support and the heart of a woman.

For close to a year, I have laughed, cried, hugged and shared unexplainable experiences with women from different walks of life. Dedicated mothers, Finance Experts, Awesome Creatives, Diligent Students, Medical Professionals, Super Wives, Wellness Gurus. When I say from different walks, I mean it.

We all are so different yet something brings us all together and connects us so seamlessly, we forget our differences and revel in our similarities. This is the heart of a woman. Recognising herself in the story of another no matter how different the surface looks.

When I opened this place called home, I had 3 values etched in my heart: love, respect and sincerity. To love everyone that walks in for the sake of our Lord, to respect everyone knowing growth isn’t the same and I do not have to look like you to be dignified and to do everything with sincerity for the sake of our Lord (In my short 30-something years on earth I can say with conviction that anything done for the sake of a human being has a shaky foundation).

These values opened my eyes to the beauty of serving. Not just serving, but serving great women.

It’s common knowledge that people say women bring each other down and envy is the order of the day when two or more women are gathered. I beg to differ and I have proof. My life, my work is proof.

I have seen women come together for nothing more than to support another in distress, I have seen women fervently pray for women whom they met just a couple of hours ago, I have see women shed tears listening to the story of another that sent chills down our spines. I have seen, oh I have seen the AMAZING heart of a woman. The nurturing spirit we possess. How anyone can say all women are in constant competition with one one another I cannot comprehend. Perhaps, these women are oblivious of the strength of women coming together for a common good.

Let me tell you a short story.

A comes to the Hub regularly, A is supportive, kind and selfless. She has made friends and built both personal and work relationships.

Suddenly A is absent a couple of times at our usual gatherings and the other women begin to ask questions. “Where is she?” “We miss her” “I think I know what’s up with her”.

They asked different questions with eager eyes waiting for the news.

When the news broke it was far from what was expected. It was a huge blow and it showed me how strong we all can be for one another.

The tears flowed… this is the heart of a woman. Warm, connected to the divine, laced with love.

Then followed the faces of determination and an overflow of du’a (supplications and prayers)… this is the strength of a woman. Ready to risk it all for that which she holds dear.

Then followed visits, planning and true help… this is the support of a woman. From the ones who brought delicious home grilled chicken, to the ones who took up the mantle of running businesses other than theirs, the ones who spent late nights miles away from home and the ones who literally held hands in the dead of the night calling on God and fighting to stay alive.

These are the women I know, the women I serve and the women that inspire me.

In less than a month, it’ll be one full year of being a phenomenal woman and knowing phenomenal women. One year I would not trade for anything except express entry into heaven and when that is granted, I will then plead with my Lord to usher in these women to the gardens beneath which rivers flow because without them, life on earth would have been deprived of the richness of knowing and serving in a true capacity.

I know you’re wondering how I would even know them when I have traded the experience for heaven, well, it’s simple, my heart will yearn for them just as it did on earth. When that need became a goal and that goal became this beautiful reality.

To the ladies of the Hub, to know you is to love you. Happy women’s month!