Loneliness permeates our culture. We pretend to be connected yet we are so far from one another. This loneliness has only grown in the last couple years as quarantines and masks have become commonplace. Yet the believers, those surrendered to Jesus, were never meant to be alone. Matthew 28:20, Jesus Himself promises to never leave us and to be present with us to the end of the age.
Not only that, but as one born again into the family of God, we are called to community, intimacy with one another. Togetherness bears more fruit than aloneness ever could.
It is never more evident than in the garden. Every spring, I alternate planting hot peppers with sweet peppers. I plant marigolds all around the tomato beds, too. I am not even a fan of marigolds, but a few years ago, I learned that companion planting helps bear more fruit without as many pesticides. I have found this to be so true!
The hot peppers keep bugs from the sweet peppers and the marigolds keep worms from my tomato plants.Togetherness bears more fruit than aloneness ever could.
When I sit with Jesus in the morning and allow Him to tend my soul by His Word, I see small growth in my heart. I return back to the truth He spoke over me all day. But when i gather with other women who are also developing a consistent rhythm of leaning in to listen to the voice of God through His Word, and we share what He is teaching each of us, then I see a far greater growth of fruit in my life.
Gathering with one another allows us to sharpen, encourage, and pray for each other. We come away with hearing lessons God is speaking into other’s lives and having been heard as we share what He is teaching us. So many times the very lesson that stood out to someone else, offers words for me to what the Lord is whispering to my own heart.
I know the joy and value of women invited into a home, with Bibles open in our laps and steaming coffee mugs on the table. I yearn for that type of gathering. Where togetherness bears more fruit than aloneness ever could.
Recently the Lord has been leading me to create this same type of sacred place in the new space we have all learned so well in recent months, this online space. I want to invite you to join me as we find refreshment together, holding one another up in prayer and feasting on the Word of God as we allow Him to tend our souls by it together in my new gathering group, Tending Together.
