Proverbs 27:9

Saturday mornings are easily my favorite time of the week.

Monday – Friday I work, like most of us. For the most part, I enjoy my job — even when it’s an insane pace — even when it drains me — but sometimes I need to pause to refill my cup. And though I can do that in a few ways, my favorites are communing with God and being with people. When I can pull the two favorites together…well, that’s pure magic!

That describes my Saturdays to a “T”.

Saturday mornings I open my doors at 7:30a. Slowly, lovely ladies begin to walk in my front door to gather in my family room. Some come with coffee, some with water, and some are just barely able to pick themselves up enough to be there. By 8:00a we’re gathered around in a circle of chairs and the chatter simmers down and the space is filled with God’s holy spirit. We open with prayer and the conversation changes to spiritual things.

Bible study is my favorite – sharing it with the ladies in our growth group is an incredible privilege.

Some of the ladies in our group have been together since I led my first group for our church back in 2018. Some are new just coming in at the beginning of this semester. Many have walked in their relationship with Jesus for a lifetime, and some have just met Him. I fall somewhere in between.

One of the newer gals — new to both our group AND her walk with Jesus — is named Lacey.

Lacey is everything I love about new believers. She’s on fire for God. She’s hungry to know more. And she is excited to share. Lacey is the very definition of what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Lacey’s old life was in the occult. As a practicing witch, she lived in abject darkness and her life felt heavy. When she hit rock bottom, a neighbor, a sweet sweet friend, invited her to church where she met Jesus, and her life was forever changed.

Had I known her before, I might not even recognize this new person. Listening to how she describes her old self, the transformation has been off the charts. I am always in awe and wonder when I hear of the miracles Jesus continues to perform in the here and now. It’s a beautiful thing, to witness a life touched by God.

In addition to being a new believer, Lacey is an amazing creator. From handmade soaps to the tattoo she recently designed for her arm, the girl breathes beauty into everything she touches. This past week, she gave me a gift that really hit my love language.

The gift itself is lovely, and simple. Lacey stayed after bible study a few weeks ago to learn how to verse map. Part of verse mapping is color coding definitions and for that, I brought out my 100+ colored pencils. The pencils were still in their original boxes (which, let’s be honest, have not held up very well over many years of use). Noting how cumbersome my collection is to dig through, Lacey made me the most beautiful pencil rollup.

My love language is not gifts. Because it is not the gift itself that touches me. It’s time. The time Lacey took to make this — the fact that she thought of me and would spend her time making this helpful and beautiful tool that solves a problem for me. THAT is my love language and she nailed it.

I am so thankful for this group of ladies I get to call friends. We talk about God, about our lives, about hard things, and fun things, and things that are important to us. We lift each other up and pray for one another. Sometimes we go to lunch after we meet and sometimes someone goes out of their way to bring a smile to another’s face, like Lacey did for me this past week.

Sometimes you have to move through something to fully see God’s hand in it. I don’t know why doing this almost always leaves me in such awe. I should be used to the way He works all things for my good and His glory. It’s a biblical principle that I see in action over and over.

When I was feeling absolutely spent last summer, I had a talk with God about needing to fill my cup. I thought one way to do that was to join a growth group of other ladies who meet for bible study on the regular. We have several of those groups at church. I was sure I would find at least one that fit my schedule.

I had stepped away from leading a group myself about two years ago – mostly because my then-new job included a lot more travel than I was used to. It was stressful trying to hold a group on Tuesday night when I wasn’t able to commit to being there every week. But that also left me without a group of supportive women.

I have a tribe of amazing girlfriends. It’s not that I had no one to chat with. The problem is more that my core tribe of ladies live across the country. It’s very different when you have a tribe in your own backyard (or living room in my case).

When I started chatting with God about which bible study I should join, the answer I kept getting didn’t sit well. He kept telling me it was time for me to lead a group again. And when I pushed back giving the “I travel a lot” excuse, he simply replied, “Saturday.” I very seldom am gone on a Saturday. My one “free” day of the week. That was my first response.

As I prayed more and thought about it more, I started to turn the corner.

I am an early riser. I am awake and moving by 4:00 a.m. most days. Saturday is no exception. I started envisioning an early morning study. I could see a group of 12 gathered around my coffee table. And 8:00a kept playing in my brain. Then I thought, “Who in the world is going to want to do a bible study at 8a on a Saturday morning?” At this point, my favorite movie quote popped into my mind:

If you build it, they will come. (From a Field of Dreams).

And so, here we are, meeting every week on Saturday mornings at 8am. And my concern that I would be pouring from an empty cup into a group of ladies each week, leaving me more drained?

For my good, and God’s glory. (2 Cor 4:15)

Spending time in the word, and preparing to lead each week, has been my favorite part of the day. I am up at 4a, brewing my coffee, praying, and opening my bible. I love this peaceful time. It makes the rest of the day better. And as for Saturday mornings? These ladies bring stories from their lives, what they are learning from our study, how God moved in their lives, and the lives of their friends and loved ones during the week. Sometimes I sit in awe, other times I sit in tears, all of it is praiseworthy. And all of it fills my cup to overflowing.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that obedience brings joy. Especially when I’m an enneagram 8 and like to buck the system to cut my own path. I will almost always try my own way over and over, even when the results are the same. Even when the results are less than spectacular. I am so glad I listened to God this time. That I carved out the time on my Saturdays. I love these ladies. Each and every one of them.

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. ~Hebrews 12:11