Our church is trying a new way to do small groups, more of a semester-based kind of thing, which is awesome in so many ways. So, I answered the call to host a group and definitely got “cold feet” as the time got closer. I’ve hosted and been a part of several small groups, but what I realized is that before now all of those groups were with people I already knew. This one is different. My group was simply listed in a catalog and any 20-something could sign up. At first I was excited about meeting new people and the idea that new people could get connected with others. Then I became less excited as the idea of opening my home to people I didn’t even know began to sink in. I thought, “what did I get myself into?!”
Well, all 8 of us met at Starbucks last Wednesday for the first time. (as a sidenote, I have known 2 of them for a few years now and had also met 2 of the others recently, so they weren’t all complete strangers!) It was so cool to simply meet new people. I love hearing people’s stories…where they’ve come from, what they enjoy, how they ended up at this point in life doing what they do, etc. I think we all walked away from Starbucks really excited to get to know each other more and with hopeful expectation of what God is going to do in our group over the next couple months.
We met again tonight at my place. I normally wouldn’t think about hosting 8 people in my cozy apartment, but it was just that: cozy…like family. We talked about what we want to do over the next several weeks and the excitement was building by the minute. We are so pumped to realize that we’re all passionate about serving and doing things to make a difference in people’s lives. And then we ended the night by sharing how God has worked in our lives to bring us to this point, of being in this small group. So awesome, again, to hear the stories that God is writing…and to know that this is just a new chapter along the journey, with blank pages yet to be written.
I’m so excited. I’m so glad each person had the courage to sign up for “the unknown”. I’m so grateful I said “yes” before I really thought about what I was “getting myself into”. I’m pumped that I get to link arms with Kate, Jim, Jessica, Christine, Dave, Sarah and Gregg for this season of life. I’m confident that our lives will not be the same.
God, you are SO good. Thanks for creating us to need each other!
“Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
‘Cause no one’s meant to be alone”
-from “We Need Each Other” by Sanctus Real
Posted by Michele 
