My "Girls"

Tonight I hung out with the "Home Team" ladies. Home Team is what our church calls small group Bible study. I enjoyed being with the ladies only (usually we are with couples) and being reminded that I have a community of Godly women here in Kentucky.

I don't admit it much, but moving to new places has been hard for me. As most of you know, I had a REALLY hard time when we moved to Texas. For the previous 5 years I had been surrounded by my two best friends and closest accountability partners. We were constantly in "real" conversation where we knew each other inside and out. We prayed, cried, and goofed around together. Over night that changed. I was determined to make friends like these in Texas.

Within a week of being married and moving to Texas we joined a small group at our new church and within months I had new friends. In the three years we lived there I made some amazing connections with ladies at church and at work. We attended Beth Moore Bible Studies together where we talked in the car and really got to know one another. Once again, I had my "girls".

However, the entire time we lived there something did not feel right. The climate was hard on me- no seasons. The landscape was hard on me- flat with no hills or mountains. Brent's job was hard on me- he worked rotating shifts. From this experience I went through stages of extreme anxiety that I did not know how to handle. I didn't like myself or who I was becoming. But I did not know how to stop it.

Finally Brent got a new job, moving us to Northern Kentucky. I instantly felt better. There were seasons, hills, and a regular schedule. My life went from irregular to consistent over night. My anxiety lessened to the point that it's now only sporadic.

However, amidst all this good, finding a church here was hard for us. That means I didn't have any "girls". Brent and I spent our first six months church-hopping. From being tired of trying, we went to a church after that for about three months, but the services were long and we were not connecting even though we'd joined a Bible Study. The group had about 30 adults in it... not a small group!

Then we remembered one of our "hops" along the way and revisited Watermark. Though we've gone through a few small groups in our two years there, we knew we were looking for a place where we fit in. And now, I think we've found it. I'm finding new "girls" again!

The main thing I have learned though is that God will supply people when we need them. I realize that if I'd always stayed in Asheville with my best friends (not that either of them still live there permanently anyway) that I would have never learned how to make new friends in the "real world". I would never had realized that God is always there for me. I would have relied too much on familiarity. Though I have a way to go before I'm totally content, I am glad God challenges me. He gives me strength to press on in relationships. He will supply my "girls" right when I need them.