I Signed up to Bring Snacks

My current church community group meets every Thursday at 7:00. It’s something to look forward to in the middle of the week, as well as a time to be encouraged and refreshed by other people. When I first moved to Houston, I quickly discovered that joining a group was a high priority of the church. Attendance at groups compared to the Sunday service was over 100%.  So without barely knowing a soul, I walked into the cutely decorated town home of Nikki and Hannah, where a women’s group was happening (a women’s group seemed the safest!) Looking back, it’s crazy to think of how nervous I was. To be honest, I analyzed everything and worried about what the other ladies thought of me. I wanted so bad to be known and belong, yet didn't quite know how to open up about my “struggles” when they often appeared so nuanced, so internal, so different than everyone else s  And being extremely homesick was a factor as well. Despite my insecurities, the women in the study were very welcoming and over time we started to bond. I remember one day in November, we were working on our service project for the women’s shelter. Along with buying gifts that the children would present to their moms, we made homemade cards that the children could write in.  So there we were, sitting cross legged on the floor, papers and scraps and ribbons and glue sticks scattered all around, while Christmas music serenaded us.  True, the weather was probably in the 80’s still, but for maybe the first time since I moved, I got a sense of “home”…  and coziness … and belonging.

Since that time, I've joined three other groups. Another ladies group in the spring, a co-ed C.S. Lewis book study in the summer, and now back full circle to another fall group. Except this time I like to joke that I was finally brave enough to join the unofficial “singles group”. I guess it’s clear by now that I’m intimidated by new surroundings and people I don’t know, and there was NO WAY I was wanting to join a group like this last year.  Such a silly, fearful girl I can be.  I really enjoy my new group, the new dynamics, and just spending time with people my age (ish).  A majority of them are grad students in med school.  So as a byproduct of that, I get to hear just how crazy medical school is, as well as hear about the human cadavers they dissect in anatomy lab.  When I volunteered to bring treats for this week, I decided I wanted to make something hearty that these poor students (who probably don’t have much time for cooking) would enjoy. I love baking and cooking for people and so I started to think of something yummy to make like cocktail meatballs or Thai peanut chicken wraps. Thursday are the busiest days for me with voice lessons in the morning, then packing Ari up and going to my pastor's house for homeschool and childcare with their 3 kiddos. So by Wednesday when I discovered that attendance would be low and that the prominent eater of the bunch (haha!) wasn’t going to be there either, I decided to simplify it and just bake cookies, buy some sun chips, and make a pitcher of Thai iced tea. I’m very glad I made that decision. Because when 7:00 rolled around and I showed up at Jessica’s apartment, no one else was there.  When 7:30 came it was apparent that no one else was going to show up. We had discussed earlier how we weren't sure how discussion this week would go, seeing as Sunday’s sermon was all about family and King David’s failure as a husband and father.  With our entire group being un-married, discussing “how to best serve your spouse” seemed a little … awkward?  But at the official start time of 7:30, Jessica and I sat down in the living room and started going over the discussion questions. What could have been an awkward or even interesting discussion for the whole group, turned into a sweet time of fellowship and self-disclosure between two sisters in Christ. We discussed our family history, hopes and concerns about the future, relationships, and the need to rely on God here and now.  I confessed how I sometimes felt intimidated by all the med students and worried that they thought I was an under achiever because I wasn't pursuing grad school.  She completely denied that and  then talked about her friends who have 4 years of insanely busy residency before them and how they wonder if they could ever realistically start a relationship and be married before they are 30.  We drank Thai iced tea, munched on M&M sugar cookies, and closed the night by praying.

I guess all my ramblings about this should have a point, but I’m not sure what that point should be. So I’ll just leave you with this rather long history of my experience at a new church and joining midweek groups. It’s neat to look back over the year and see how God has grown me through them, as scary as I sometimes made it out to be.