A Gift of Hope

Jan 8, 2023 | by The Fellowship

In August 2020, the pandemic with all of its isolation was getting into full swing.  We had only lived in Katy for a few months, and I had not met anyone in the area yet.  My husband was home just on weekends as he had to be away for work, so that left me alone much of the time to single-parent our three-year-old daughter. It was a hard time filled with uncertainty, quarantining and loneliness!

But in the midst of that trial, I discovered Bible study.  That was a life-changing experience for me.  For the first time in my life, I was hungry for Scripture and growing in my relationship with God.

I had not been to church in several years. And even then, it was mostly going on major holidays like Christmas and Easter to check the box.  When I walked out the doors of the church after a service, the message did not remain in my thoughts -- so it was never put into action in my life.

Besides getting involved in studying the Bible, I was also drawn to listening to sermons online.  In my isolation, my appetite for things spiritual was insatiable. I could not get enough fast enough because I was learning so many new spiritual truths as well as the history of God’s interaction with mankind.

 It was a time of great discovery.  I was a little angry at first because of my lack of knowledge about our Creator and His unfailing love for each of us. How could I just now be finding out?  For the first time in my life, I completely surrendered control and gave my full heart to God.  Little did I know the Lord was preparing me for what He had planned next!

By September 2021, a common theme kept coming up in my Bible studies and while listening to sermons on the web – the importance of going to church in person and finding community.  Our daughter started attending Treasure Cove weekday preschool at The Fellowship, and so we figured why not try checking out this church.  Honestly, I did not have high hopes.  We had been burned by churches in the past.  Never before had I ever felt connected to a church or its community of believers.

Just a month later, our family was turned upside down.  After my husband and I endured all that time apart for more than a year, he unexpectedly lost his job.   Because his work happened to be tied to my family, that only made the situation worse.  The relationship with them had been a toxic one, and God slammed that door shut so He could redirect us.

At this point, my husband and I felt lost, confused, hurt and worried. But ultimately what we wanted was to make sure that our next step was on the path God planned for us -- because we obviously had not been.

We quickly started meeting people at The Fellowship and I got invited to check out someone’s LIFE Group.  I had never even heard of LIFE Groups or church small groups, so this was all new for me -- and way outside my introvert comfort zone.  Somehow, I thought this LIFE Group was for ladies only, so with my Bible in hand I showed up at the house of someone I had never met. Both men and women welcomed me and fed me dinner.  When I opened up to vulnerably share what we were currently dealing with, instead of casually listening or being judgmental, they got on my level, sat with me and then prayed over me.  Never had I experienced anything like it in my life! I could not wait to go back the next week, this time bringing my husband and daughter along.

Now over a year later, my LIFE Group is my family.  We talk every day, pray for each other continually, and just do life … together. That single leap of faith led to one blessing after another.  As I continue to step outside my comfort zone in faithful obedience to God, He continues to not only reveal beautiful things but also provides abundant blessings.

A wonderful answer to prayer has been His financial provisions for us during this new season … and through our church community the gift of a family that we had been longing for. We were in such a place of hopelessness, but our God is a God of hope!  He has gifted us with a whole new sense of hope that we could not even dream was possible a year ago.

J.H.

For we live by faith, not by sight.  
2 Corinthians 5:7