Relationships Renew!

I was sitting on the couch and my friend was sitting across from me. She was crying; the kind of crying you do when you are just tired and weary.  Tears slowly rolled down her face as she explained to me how she yearned for her husband to come to church with her. It had been such a long time since they had connected on a spiritual level.  All she wanted from me was for me to lend her a listening ear and to pray with her. I know the value of just listening because I too have  been on the receiving end of a listening ear and prayer.  Scripture encourages us in I Thess. 5:11 to “…encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” In 1 Peter 4 we are encouraged to “…keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s grace.”  My friend needed encouragement and love.  And when we come together like this, we are renewed!  Our strength is renewed! How often have you shared a burden with a friend and left feeling more hopeful, more strengthened, more encouraged, more full of faith that God is going to move in your situation? It happens all the time…we spur one another on…we encourage one another to fight the good fight…to run our race.   That is one of the beautiful results of being connected in a small group.  We get renewed by the relationships we develop in small groups.

Relationships renew!

by Julia Mateer