THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602070140
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LORIE GOMEZ, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
When United Methodist women from Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach meet for their fifth annual retreat in Chesapeake Saturday, they will be learning about battling stress with faith. It's a subject that Julie McGehee, coordinator for the retreat, knows something about.
Last June, a careless driver struck McGehee's car. She suffered multiple injuries and lost her unborn child. If the pain of losing a child and many weeks of rehabilitation weren't hard enough to bear, four weeks later McGehee's husband was laid off from his job.
But McGehee never gave in to bitterness and sorrow. Instead, she is full of forgiveness and joy. She focuses on the fact that her 3-year-old son, who was riding in the back seat when the accident occurred, walked away unharmed, that she was able to hold her 27-week-old baby before he died and that every day her healing continues - both physically and psychologically.
Today, her husband has a new job and the couple are hopeful that there will be another child soon. McGehee credits her quick healing to faith.
``God loved me through it,'' she said, simply.
McGehee hopes that this year's United Methodist Women's retreat for women under 50 in the Norfolk District will help other women deal with stressful situations by using faith in God. The theme is ``Lord, Take My Life and Let It Be, Please: Effectively Dealing With Stress Through Faith.''
The retreat will be held at Messiah United Methodist Church, 411 South Dominion Boulevard, and runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. There will be a small registration fee collected at the door. Anyone interested in attending the retreat can call Julie McGehee for more information or registration at 471-3386. by CNB