Wednesday Reunion

When I lived in Lubbock, I was very active in the Emmaus Community. The Walk to Emmaus is a weekend of spiritual renewal that is once-in-a-lifetime. Once you go on your Walk, you can participate as a team member. But you only go on your "pilgrim" walk once. I went on a walk for teenagers, called Chrysalis, in 1990. I worked on several teams and was eventually a Lay Director for a Walk in the Llano Estacado Emmaus Community. I even served as the secretary of the board for several years. Over time, I was a member of a couple of different reunion groups. These are people who get together regularly to share the spiritual aspects of their lives. (Although it's called "reunion," group members don't have to have been on the same Walk.)

When I moved to the DFW area, Emmaus was harder to connect to. Monthly gatherings weren't the same as they were in Lubbock, if they happened at all.  It took me several years before I even sponsored someone on a Walk in that area. It wasn't until my friend Julie went on her Walk and we started talking about taking Emmaus to Latvia that I finally committed to a reunion group in Grapevine. I never really thought I would be able to make weekly meetings, but we scheduled them during lunch at the church where I worked. So I could just take a break from work to be there. It was convenient, and I rarely missed. Each week, we would share moments when we felt God's presence in our lives, moments when we struggled, times when we felt called to something new, and prayer requests for the week to come. 

Then I moved to Albany. When I first started considering the move, this small group was one of the things I was going to miss most. At some point, we talked about how I might be able to keep participating. We eventually decided to use Skype and Messenger to video chat. 

One of the greatest gifts about having these many months of respite from work is that I've been able to continue connecting with these lovely ladies every week. Those who were left behind weren't tied to the lunch hour, so their time shifted to mid-afternoon. But, since I wasn't working yet, I could still be there. 

Wednesdays are our reunion day, so today I wanted to share how very thankful I am to have this group. I had made a habit of going without structured small group community for many years, but I am so glad they convinced me to try it again. It's easy to say "you should do it too" but I know how hard it is to commit to something like that. Trust me, I know. But if you have an opportunity, I can't tell you enough how much of a blessing it is to meet weekly with people who have your back. It's really beyond words. Thanks, Bev, Julie, Julie, and Kathy, for being my steadfast spiritual sounding boards.

I chose this rainbow mug to illustrate this post because the rainbow is a symbol used in Emmaus to represent the many colors of God's love and I'm usually drinking a cup of coffee during reunion.
Photo credit: Somchai Chitprathak from Pixabay