Flushed

This weekend, I went with a group of some of the most loving and beautiful women ever. The fifteen girls on Starlite Ministries' Cabinet packed up our bags and headed out for a weekend of hanging out with each other and our Father.
Each of us come from different backgrounds and lifestyles, each of us, apart from Starlite, live in our own social circles. I would know very few of them if God didn't place us together.
And yet He placed us together because we have one thing in common.
We're all in the process of healing.

This weekend, even though we were blessed by an anonymous donor to go to a hotel/indoor waterpark in Gatlinburg and played in a wavepool and were flushed down a giant toilet bowl, the most amazing moments were when we were simply in each other's presence.

The most amazing relationships one can have is having people who still love you even when they know every hurtful moment of your life.

This weekend started off driving in a car for a few hours, each girl weary after living a hectic week in college.

Then, at a church in Knoxville where we spent the night, we were introduced to The Affirmation Circle.

14 girls, each in their pjs, wearing no makeup as no boys were around and showing God that we loved what He naturally created, with hearts open as they circled around a fellow sister in Christ, spilling out pure compliments to the one in the middle. Each girl had a turn, as she was told by the others that God loved her, saw her as completely beautiful and wanted to see that she was safe from any hindrance that the enemy might try to throw our way. And then, perhaps the most difficult part of the night came when it was time for her to tell the group what she thought God loved the most about her physically, spiritually and emotionally.

It was in that moment that a victory rang clear. No longer was there any shame, hurt or hate of oneself left in that room. It was in that moment when we knew that God was right next to us, smiling, because He had led an army of love to triumph.

And there, in that circle, we helped each other to heal.

The next morning, we set out to uplift a group of widows living in the Church of God's widow complex for pastor's wives who had lost their husbands. It was way to early in the morning to be awake, but there we were at Hardee's, making Valentines for these women and one for the nice cashier. No one was sure what to expect but as we got there, we were welcomed with nothing but open arms as we had expected to impart some joy to some widows but left being bestowed with blessings (and candy) by 38 of my new grandmothers who all prayed and prophesied over the great things that we could do when we trusted Him.

For a while, I've been praying to find a church family that can encourage me on my walk with God. He sent one to me, they may not gather in one building but all around me. They live in Tharp Hall, they gather at the Starlite meetings, they pray at the Iris Vest Widow's Center and there are more members of my family that I cannot wait to meet and pass on the encouragement.

Even though we left for a weekend waterpark adventure, that was the part that we will probably remember the least later on, because those words of encouragement will remain in our hearts forever.

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."
--Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

A video from our adventures (thanks to ministrysofabulous.com)