One thing I’ve learned from Andy Stanley’s sermons is
that you don’t need to be married—or even in a relationship—to prepare for
marriage. Preparing for marriage comes
long before the vows. And the sooner you
start, the better. Because I have
learned this, my friendships with men, while spiritually encouraging and
life-changing, remain at a less deep level than my friendships with women.
I know that long after I marry it is these friendships
that will be with me, that will continue to have the ability to grow deeper, to
be bonded in a way that male-female friendships cease out of respect for a
marriage and its intimacy.
And this is how I came to want so desperately
friendships—and deeper friendships—and opportunities to grow with women. And I also figured that if I could want these things, that it was
very likely that other women wanted them, too.
And while I prayed to God for Him to move and provide, I
sat. Idle. Waiting.
Wondering. And after a year of
waiting for His provision, I realized He was waiting on me.
And through a course of events and people (people, who
without this would not be possible) s•i•b was born. Something in Between. Something not just prayer, not just worship, not just one thing. We began in July, where I held my first
gathering, trying to verbalize God’s prompting in my life.
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| Month 1: Introduced the Prayer Board where we write our prayers on post-it notes, both sharing our prayers openly with each other and awaiting God to answer us. |
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| Month 2: Created Cue Cards to spark conversation and offer the girls a planned out way to be open with one another about how God had recently blessed their lives. |
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| Month 3: Each girl picked a gift pouch that contained a unique verse, and each verse had an accompanying question. It's a group activity that makes us women work together and talk to one another about God and what's going on in our lives, purposefully. |
I wanted for women to connect. I wanted for us to have opportunities outside
of church to know each other. To provide
a reason for women to share. The ideas
began rolling. Cue cards. Questions.
Ways to open doors for those wanting
doors to be opened. To challenge women to step into roles they
may not otherwise receive or volunteer.
To push them to be leaders, to pray out loud, to share. To share in His Word. To sing praises to Him, worshiping together. Giving women a prompting to share God’s love
in their lives—to share His glory.
The simple needing of
something can provide the road to its very provision.
Not every meeting has been perfect, but each one has been
written by Him. I feel His hands over
all of it. The development, the songs,
the girls who attend, the words that are spoken, the prayers that are prayed,
the fellowship, the open hearts—it’s Him who has fashioned everything.
I don’t know if the other girls feel the same way I do,
but after each finish, I reflect on the short, but meaningful time spent
together. Always I am thankful for the
women He calls to attend and who He has introduced into my life and whose lives
have been connected by Him through this.
There are a million different reasons this was formed and
because of this, there are a million different provisions that are received
from it. I hope that it gives each woman
something, because the only woman I can vouch for is me, and I know that
listening to my sisters talk openly about the God who loves them has been a
bigger blessing than anything else.
Each meeting has been unique, different. And I look forward to the coming of the next
one.
Dear God, I just praise You for all You have done in my
life. You have taken my hands and made
otherwise incapable fingers fashion doors for women. You have opened the hearts of those in
attendance and I pray that You continue to guide those women. For those who have come, but not
returned. For those who RSVPed and never
made it. For those who have dueling
schedules and cannot make it. For the
women who come regularly. For those who
have helped at every point in this process. I pray for all of these hearts. Father, I pray that You continue to guide me
through this and show me more people who have any advice. I pray to know older women, to connect with
the wise. To be poured into. I pray for the hearts of my peers to have
similar desires. I pray that if there is
a woman out there who has the same desires that she walks through the next door,
and receives whatever it is she needs.
Praise and deep thanks for those who have helped along the way. Without their help, encouragement and
direction, this wouldn’t exist. Thank
You for placing them in my life.
