I've spent a year wondering who God would bring to me for (in)RL this year. When I sat on my couch solo last year I didn't know a soul in this community past those we were working with in ministry. All I can say is that when you get off your porch you better prepare for God to cross your paths with unexpected friendships.
What I thought that meant is that this year all my new friends would gather in my home to watch this year's (in)RL conference. Turns out that the last weekend of April is crazy busy with birthday parties, 5k runs, and other women's ministry events.
My small group of six attendees dwindled to a gathering of three- including myself! I could have cancelled. I was in the middle of a(nother) move and to be quite honest life has thrown a few dozen curve balls at us these past week few weeks. One of the ladies that attended even said she was surprised that I didn't cancel. It sincerely never crossed my mind.
That isn't super spirituality. I crave community and all I could think was if I have one or one hundred it doesn't matter because I have the promise of God's presence. If God is willing to show up in my little then why wouldn't I be? So I rolled out my version of a red carpet- that mostly means lots of chocolate- in a house that we're only going to be living in for a month and is decorated like a funeral home- God bless em'.
The two women that came into my pieced together life for a few hours last Saturday were strangers to me. My home wasn't filled with the now familiar faces of a year of friendship as I'd hoped for. I have those friends. I'm grateful for those women. But God decided to keep widening the circle and reminding me that there are more stories out there to be heard and embraced, even in a small town.
It's in the act of loving that God shows up. The real work of community building happens in the middle of our messy when we put down the ideals and the envisioned and we let God work through us. I struggle with that truth, but I see the fruit of it when I let go of my expectations.
Our time together was a shy mix of getting to know you, sharing the messy, laughing at it all, and eating (because of course). God reminded me that He connects His daughters. I don't know that I would have ever crossed paths with these women otherwise.
No, the circle of friends that God has given me this past year wasn't in attendance, but He made a way for that circle to widen and in the midst of it all He showed up.
(in)RL is the women's conference that comes to you from (in)courage! In case you missed it copies of this year's conference videos are available. You can also enjoy some of the other amazingness like these gorgeous conference postcards (to frame or send) and another listen of the conference theme song by Christa Wells!
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