We Are Not Alone | Week 1
During the Fall 2019 cycle of Redemption Groups, we’ve tasked an anonymous blogger with sharing their experience. The goal is to give you a taste of the power of Jesus that we get to see a glimpse of in Redemption Groups, and help you see why they are essential for the life of a TPC partner. This is the first of 7 entries.
These posts will only include the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the anonymous blogger.
Walking into Redemption Groups for the very first time is an exciting unknown.
“Where will I begin in my story? What will I share about my sin & suffering?”
When we sat there, most of us meeting for the first time, I thought, “How will these next 10 weeks be? All of us seem so different.” Which we are, but we all have one thing in common - suffering. As each of us opened our mouths and hearts to one another, we got to peer into each other’s individual worlds of suffering. We cried and laughed and chose to be vulnerable. I found on the first day that I surely was not alone in the deep pains of suffering.
We may all be different in personality, and our stories may be opposite sides of the spectrum, but I found a shared pain in all of the tears and expression. A shared pain of suffering. We all have it. And we are all heard & known by God in it!
However, it is hard to come face to face with the things that make us suffer.
It is hard to recognize why I am fearful of man instead of God sometimes, it is hard to try to understand why I am insecure in who I am. It is hard to process lies that I believe over what is True. It’s hard to come to grips with the areas of my heart that still don’t trust, understand or love God more than myself.
Through Redemption Groups so far I have been reminded of the reality that nothing, no thing, can ever separate me from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus. That just because I have trouble or calamity, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t love me. There are still parts of me that don’t trust God or trust that He actually loves me. These are the suffering parts in me.
In Redemption Groups there is so much room to look at these parts of my heart. The more I know why I don’t trust God because of my sin & suffering, the more I see how much those things cannot separate me from His love! And I love experiencing these things with my group, learning and healing alongside of them, knowing that nothing can ever separate them from His love, too.
Being heard and known in this small group is a great glimpse into that reality and I can’t wait to get another glimpse.