Wednesday nights are special. Every Wednesday night over the past year, I have gathered with the same small group of girls. The first Wednesday I walked into a room full of semi-strangers. They came from different backgrounds, states, and age groups. Some were in completely different life stages than I was.
Only three things tied us together at that point- 1) a commitment to keep showing up each Wednesday night, 2) a commitment to each other, and 3) a desire to learn more about Jesus and grow in our faith.
Those three things have made all difference. We committed to each other long before we even knew what we were committing to.
Over the past year God has knit our hearts together in such a way that Wednesdays do not make sense without those faces. We have walked through heartbreak, the end of relationships, financial struggles, and even the death of a beloved family member together. We have seen the joy of transformation, the beginning of new relationships, and celebrated with each other at birthdays, a new marriage, and an engagement.
Sometimes, we hurt each other’s feelings. The sting of an insensitive comment made coming back next Wednesday one of the last things you wanted to do, but we had committed, so we showed up. It was in this place, where we learned to ask for forgiveness, and the importance of saying, “Please will you forgive me?”
It was here where we learned to forgive and the value of staying committed to people – not because they are always pleasant or perfect – but because we are called to stay actively involved in committed relationships long after the feeling of wanting to be there has left us.
The business of modern life in the city means that unless you regularly schedule time with friends, you just will not run into them. This commitment to dedicate our Wednesday nights to each other means taking time to slow down and just listen to one another. We have cried with each other and prayed over one another when we could not utter the words to speak ourselves. It means that there have been nights when we never got to our study because one of us just needed to be heard, understood, loved and told that she had inexplicable value to God and us.
People have stopped and asked us what it is about our group that makes it so different from the normal, self-interested, “I will love you when you are lovable” type of groups of friends that the world is used to seeing. The answer is so easy.
We have committed to each other, committed to seeing one another grow closer to Jesus and committed to placing each other’s interests above our own.
We are still growing closer to God and one another. The rhythm of life means that some faces have been called to other states and communities. Nothing stays the same but looking back at the way we have grown over the course of this year, that is such a blessing.
