Wow, today was just a roller coaster in itself and how else to begin than with the not so exciting details. After pulling (half of) an all-nighter to work on a paper, I had to get up and go to work, and then come home to work on the paper more. Little did I know, that my plans later on in the day would turn out to be even better than I had hoped.
Some girls I know from school had posted a picture to social media not too long ago at an event called “The Grove.” I could see it was a church event and being the curious church lover I am, I googled it. I was completely shocked to see that it was an all girls event that took place once a month at Passion City Church. I still can’t believe I had never heard of the event before. Never the less, I sent out a message to my girlfriends from high school and let them know I really wanted to go.
So the night had finally arrived (tonight), and I was more than excited to get ready and head to The Grove with one of my best friends since high school. I got all dressed up not knowing what to expect and when we got there the place was just beautiful. I can see why people love the church so much and the event had such an amazing turnout. The place was so packed that they had to open up the overflow room!
The night started just like any Sunday service would with a wonderful worship. The band was just incredible and had such an amazing energy and stage presence. Once worship wrapped up, they got down to business and announced who the guest speaker would be for the evening and it was a Mrs. Jennie Allen. I had never heard of her prior to tonight but now that I have listened to her speak, I am excited to follow her in the future. I even purchased a copy of her book, “Rectless: Because You Were Made For More,” which I am excited to crack open.
The service focused on our individual ambitions and purpose for our lives and this was so great and easy to relate to with my transition from college to the real world so close. There are so many things that we use as excuses to hold us back from going out and living our life’s purpose, such as: doubt, insecurities, work, school, a lack of resources, relationships, and many more. It is in these excuses that we really restrain ourselves from going out and making our lives exactly what we want them to be.
Jennie was asked at one point if she believed that suffering was a vital part of becoming who we are and she without hesitation said, “YES.” Everyone in life is going to go through struggles and suffer through situations, whether it be in your personal life or watching someone you hold close to you heart suffer. We cannot let these challenges hold us back, we have to take the hardships and obstacles that God places in front of us and use them for His exact intentions. Those intentions are to make us STRONGER.
We hear all the time that, God gives His hardest battles to His toughest soldiers, and we are all fighting hard battles. Use these times to rise up. The struggles we face and overcome can lead us to spread the word of God and how our faith in Him helped us overcome the suffering.
“Everything will be okay in the end, if it is not okay, it is not the end.” – John Lennon
Let your soul rest easy with the lord. I know that I find my peace in hard times, by looking to Him. I do not pray for Him to make life easier or to give me all of the answers. I pray to Him that He guide me safely through the struggles, help me learn from the lessons He is teaching me, and find clarity in the situations I may not understand.
He was so present tonight at The Grove with all of us women. Final prayers and worship were enough to move me to tears, and that is such a beautiful thing. I am so excited for The Grove’s to come and to be able to invite and share that with the women in my life that are so important to me.
“I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go.” – Genesis 28:15†
Stay Blessed
♥
BE|ALWAYS|BLOOMING 