Gracie Girl Blog

so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

1 Thessalonians 2:8

5:20 AM is early, but I think in college it is even earlier. However, it’s the absolute latest wake-up time when you are going to attend a 6:00 AM Bible study 30 minutes from your college town. Seem like a lot of work for a Bible study? I’d agree. But despite the wake up time and distance, Abbey and I became regulars at this 6:00 AM group.

It’s funny how an entire lifetime of being a Christian doesn’t damper the scary feeling of joining a new group, even having a friend with you. 

Senior year was my first year of college I wasn’t involved in Young Life. When I stepped down the previous spring, I was asked to leave the Bible study group I’d been in for two years. I was angry at first. While I understood the reasons, kicking someone out of a Bible study felt like something Jesus would not do – and I worried for the next guy/girl whose faith might be shaken more than mine by something like that. Alas, I wasn’t looking for more to do senior year but a bible study sounded good so I gave it a shot. 

Per usual, I forgot how much God loves to give good things because by the time graduation rolled around, I knew this group of women would be one of the things I remembered most fondly about college. 

This group was the first multi-generational bible study I’d been a part of and not only that, it was a group of incredibly wise and devoted Christian women. Yet, it was still an environment where it was safe to ask questions. Actually, it was safe to do anything – laugh, cry, etc.

The Wednesday morning Bible study in Radford, Virginia marked me deeply. Although it was only one year out the four, my time there is one of my fondest college memories.  I hated to leave, but I left encouraged at what God had done in a short amount of time. And I’m still encouraged, knowing that in a small Virginia town there’s a group of women going through what looks like normal life, but are really doing some of the deepest and most important of God’s work.

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Leaving that Bible study, I felt a loss of community yet hope for what a Bible study group could be. So when I moved back home for the year after college, I joined a multigenerational women’s group at my church.

This group was a stark contrast to my college one at first. As a completely new group, it felt like it took months just to learn everyone’s name. Most women were moms, some new to faith, some new to committing to a Bible study. Coming out of college ministry, I realize what a privilege it was to always have a Bible study to attend, and be surrounded by fellow Christians digging into the word.

We really hit our stride “second term” when the group started back up after the new year. We had a smaller, consistent group. I not only knew everyone’s names but also their kids’ ages and current life struggles. I started co-leading the group with our host Silvia, mostly just to help her out and give her weeks she did not have to prepare anything.

A lot of people asked me what I was going to do to find community post-grad, and now I’m being asked what I did and what would I recommend. My advice is this: Dig in. Dig in no matter where you are or for how long. There were many weeks I didn’t feel like going to Bible study, didn’t feel like I had the energy or social battery, didn’t feel like I would “get anything out of it.” A friend reminded me that Bible study is a discipline and that changed my perspective a lot. As my mom reminded me, there’s always spiritual opposition to doing good things.

Now, at the end of another year with another great Bible study, I’m reflecting on what God has done again. How worth it it has been, even for only a year, to dig in. What a blessing to get to know women following the Lord, to learn from their perspectives, to hear about how they are translating their faith to their kids. I was not the only non-mom in the group, but across everyone we had moms of kids ages 2 to late 20s. I enjoyed hearing them give each other advice for different stages of parenting, as well as felt like I could offer insight on what it was like to grow up in the ultra-competitive NOVA environment. I loved getting to see the church I grew up in from an adult perspective.

I will say there are instances where a group may just not be for you. Parallel to this women’s group, I attended a couple sessions of a young adults (please when someone finds a definition for that phrase, let me know) group I didn’t vibe with. All super sweet people, but I was looking for something different and that’s okay. There’s certainly a difference between not vibing with a group and not wanting to go because it’s just not the easiest thing to do.

A note to the introverts: It was not always easy to show up to a group of people I did not know well in the beginning. Especially after a day of work in a chaotic season of transition. But it is SO IMPORTANT to do because there will come a day when you really need prayer or encouragement and you will know you can roll up to this group and feel safe and seen and heard. Dig in when it’s not easy – you won’t regret it.

So here’s to my Wednesday women – both in Radford and in Fairfax. You all have made a lasting impression on my life and I am so thankful for how evident the goodness of God is in each and every one of you. You are seeking the Lord in the midst of marriage and motherhood, young kids and estranged kids, expected and unexpected challenges, and all of it is inspiring to me and precious to the Lord.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25