\n<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll never forget more than twenty years ago when I went to a women\u2019s conference with thousands of ladies. I had no idea what God had in store for me at that gathering of women from all over the world. I thought it was just a conference. I had no idea my life would be changed. I think heaven smiles when we gather together. It was at this conference that God spoke to my heart about leaving the broadcast news industry that I loved, asking me to join my husband in ministry. The sermon wasn\u2019t on a related topic, and if I\u2019m honest, I don\u2019t even remember the theme of the conference. But I do remember what God spoke to my heart in that crowd of women.<\/p>\n
As soon as I got home, I shared with my husband what God had spoken to me, and he was shocked. He had always celebrated my dreams and encouraged me to pursue them. But as I look back almost two decades later, it was one of the best decisions of my\u00a0entire life. We\u2019re leading a growing, beautiful, diverse, global, life-giving church together. And every gift and skill I have, I learned from taking steps in that direction.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not just called to gather on a large scale like a conference. We\u2019re also called to gather in our daily lives.<\/p>\n
I have three amazing children, and there are eleven years between the youngest and oldest. I had an elementary school kid, a middle schooler, and a high schooler all at one time. Because of their age range, I\u2019ve had the opportunity to come alongside so many moms to be a mentor and big sister. No matter the season you\u2019re in, gathering with other women on similar journeys, women who have gone before you, or even women who are younger than you is a game changer. It keeps the fire burning in you, prevents you from being isolated, and helps you maintain perspective no matter how challenging the season is. In gathering, we get to find out what is considered a normal experience and ask for advice about specific situations. In gathering, we\u2019re strengthened and we grow.<\/p>\n
We as women are often under siege. Different arrows are shot at us every single day. The world is fighting to make us forget our value, our worth, and our voice. We\u2019re under attack from the moment we\u2019re born. Girls form cliques in elementary school, already exhibiting exclusionary behavior and assigning worth based on social status. Do you ever wonder why the Enemy starts attacking women so early with comparison and jealousy? It\u2019s because of the power of gathering.<\/p>\n
Even though women are under siege, the power of sisterhood is saying, \u201cI\u2019m in this with you.\u201d We\u2019re not going to conform to the world\u2019s standard of womanhood. We\u2019re not going to be like many women portrayed on reality TV shows. God bless them\u2014they\u2019re amazing. But we\u2019re not going to be yelling at one another, pulling one another\u2019s hair, backbiting, stealing one another\u2019s husbands, and talking about one another\u2019s kids. That\u2019s not our message.<\/p>\n
The world is also pushing us to isolate ourselves, especially when we\u2019re going through a tough time. A spirit of isolation seems to exist in our society. But it\u2019s a lying spirit. Honestly, we would never have to leave the house if we didn\u2019t want to. I\u2019m not mad about some conveniences like Amazon Prime. I\u2019m not mad that I can just get on my computer and Band-Aids are delivered to my door in two hours. I\u2019m not mad that I can order groceries online, tip the driver four dollars, and avoid the commotion in a grocery store with three kids. I\u2019m not mad about that.<\/p>\n
But with all this convenience, the structure of our world makes us think that we don\u2019t need one another.<\/p>\n
You can do everything from your phone. You can do everything by yourself. You can practically exist in a virtual reality. The Enemy wants the spirit of isolation to permeate our society because destructive habits form when you\u2019re alone too much. When you\u2019re alone, you feel like nobody else is hurting like you\u2019re hurting. When you\u2019re alone, you feel like your pain is the heaviest you could possibly imagine. When you\u2019re alone, you feel like you\u2019re the only one whose marriage is struggling. When you\u2019re alone, you feel like the only one who feels overweight. When you\u2019re alone, you feel like the only one who\u2019s not going to get a promotion. That\u2019s why so much power exists in the gathering of women.<\/p>\n
We all are fighting isolation now, some more than others. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10<\/a> says, \u201cTwo 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.\u201d We\u2019re not called to be in isolation. We need physical touch, we need to lock eyes, and we need to be around one another. Community gives life. If you watch National Geographic or study animals, you know they roll deep in herds because when an animal is alone, it\u2019s vulnerable to attack. You\u2019ve seen those animal documentaries where, out of the blue, a cheetah snatches a lone creature and disappears. But when herds stay tight, the predators can\u2019t attack them. So we roll deep as a sisterhood. Our gathering pushes away the Enemy.<\/p>\n Getting out of a dark place is much harder when you\u2019re alone. We\u2019re all going to fall. We\u2019re human, and we don\u2019t have to be perfect. You\u2019re going to fall. But the key is having someone grab your hand and say, \u201cGirl, get back up. I know who you are. I know that you\u2019re not called to make those choices, and I\u2019m going to pray with you until we watch that breakthrough come. We\u2019re going to go to church, we\u2019re listening to podcasts, we\u2019re going to therapy and counseling, and we\u2019re going to worship together until we cross over to victory together.\u201d<\/p>\n Ecclesiastes 4<\/a> has more wisdom for us: \u201cA 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\u201d (verse 12). We are women who are not easily broken because we are women who can say, \u201cI\u2019m a part of a sisterhood. I\u2019m a part of a triple-braided cord.\u201d<\/p>\n Your finances aren\u2019t going to break you. Your relationships aren\u2019t going to break you. Your fears aren\u2019t going to break you. Your insecurities aren\u2019t going to break you. Because you will be supported and encouraged in the sisterhood. We all find belonging when we allow ourselves to live in community with the beautiful and messy people God\u2019s placed around us. We\u2019re called to gather.<\/p>\n The world is getting dark. But a companion can help you bear the darkness and carry the weight of the world. We come together to give one another hope and to speak life. We don\u2019t have to have it all together. I sure don\u2019t. As I write this chapter, my toes aren\u2019t even polished! I don\u2019t remember the last time I had a pedicure. I haven\u2019t had time. Don\u2019t get me one. Really, I don\u2019t need you to get me one. But if you were to look closely at my toes, you would think,\u00a0Bless her.<\/p>\n Jesus shows up when we gather.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the deal: we don\u2019t have to have it all together.<\/p>\n One of my weeks a few years ago was really crazy. Earl had knee surgery so that he can dunk more because he loves basketball and also so that he can run around with our kids. In the previous chapter, I talked about being crowned to serve. Well, I earned a couple of crowns that week as I ran around to make sure Earl had everything he needed. I even asked him, \u201cDo you feel I\u2019m doing a good job?\u201d Because you know how you sometimes can feel like you\u2019ve taken care of someone well, but they still need more? Part of you might think,\u00a0Wow, okay. I guess I don\u2019t have anything to do but serve you.\u00a0I\u2019m just being honest. So I said, \u201cEarl, do you feel taken care of? Do you feel like I\u2019m leaning into you? Do you feel good?\u201d And he said, \u201cYes, you\u2019ve been amazing.\u201d I was so relieved! That was a crazy week. But I knew that if I could just get to church and be surrounded by the sisterhood of all my girls and if I could just sit in God\u2019s presence, God would meet me there, and He absolutely did. I know that He\u2019s meeting you right now too.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to do life alone.<\/p>\n From Earl\u2019s knee surgery to sending my oldest child to college, I wouldn\u2019t have survived without community. Meals, encouraging texts, advice from other moms who have launched their kids\u2014all of this has buffered this season with grace and strength. I\u2019m passionate about this:\u00a0You don\u2019t have to go it alone.<\/p>\n Sadly, many of us have been hurt in community and are afraid to trust again. I first want to say I\u2019m so sorry for the pain you\u2019ve experienced\u2014it makes sense why you want to skip this chapter. But can I tell you I\u2019ve been hurt too? I\u2019ve been misunderstood. I\u2019ve been betrayed by friends who I thought would never turn their back on me. I prayed and allowed God to heal my broken heart. Was it awful? Yes. Was it hard? Yes. But I will tell you God has healed my heart. Though it did take time. I decided I\u2019m going to love big and trust again and allow new friends and healed friends to surround me. I say all this to say that when we\u2019re surrounded by the right healthy people, we\u2019re strengthened, encouraged, and able to make it through almost anything.<\/p>\n We\u2019re called to gather when we\u2019re burning in the furnace of trouble. When the heat is turned up, we\u2019re still called to come together.<\/p>\n When fire\u2019s coming from everywhere, and we think, Could this situation possibly get any worse? Could the fire possibly get any hotter? Could life possibly get any more difficult?\u2014guess what? We\u2019re still called to gather. In the good times and in the bad.<\/p>\n In the book of Exodus, we get a fascinating look at the power of women working shoulder to shoulder during the time when Israel was enslaved to Egypt:<\/p>\n Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: \u201cWhen you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.\u201d But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king\u2019s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.<\/p>\n So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. \u201cWhy have you done this?\u201d he demanded. \u201cWhy have you allowed the boys to live?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,\u201d the mid-wives replied. \u201cThey are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.\u201d<\/p>\n So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. (1:15\u201321)<\/p>\n I love how these two midwives used their position to protect the next generation. They didn\u2019t let the king stop them from being used by God. That is so powerful. Who are you supposed to gather with at your job, at your school, in your neighborhood? Don\u2019t underestimate the power of gathering.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a plan and a purpose for every woman created. We\u2019re reminding the women of the world that God hasn\u2019t forgotten about them and that He will never leave them or forsake them.\u00a0That is the power of sisterhood. That is the power of gathering. Together, we push against the current.<\/p>\n When others judge, we love. you\u2019ll be expectant about what God can do in your life, what miracles He can do on your behalf, and what battles He can fight. An old African proverb says, \u201cIf you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.\u201d We as a sisterhood go together. We\u2019re going to go farther. We\u2019re not alone. We\u2019re for one another. We believe in one another. We speak life into one another. We\u2019re one another\u2019s cheerleaders. You can cheer in a skirt or combat boots as long as you\u2019re cheering for somebody. We believe that we\u2019re called to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine.\u00a0But we can\u2019t let one another make the journey alone; we need to say, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m going with you.\u201d If you\u2019re reading this, we\u2019re in this life together. You\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n Finally, Matthew 18:20<\/a> says, \u201cWhere two or three gather in my name, there am I with them\u201d (NIV). God is here right now with you, He is here in your storm, and He is here to bring break-through. Whatever fire you\u2019re facing, whatever storm, I\u2019m believing that heaven is going to invade Earth on your behalf.<\/p>\n We come from a long line of women who gathered with purpose and power. Deborah and Jael double-teamed the enemy and took him down. And as we saw in the last chapter, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many other women helped fund Jesus\u2019s ministry. I think about the women who gathered around the tomb to prepare Jesus\u2019s body for burial. All throughout Scripture, we see how when women gather together, God shows up. Hebrews 12<\/a> tells us that we\u2019re surrounded by a cloud of witnesses and urges us to throw off everything that hinders and entangles us. When we gather together, we help one another throw down weights that would try to hold us back.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve had trouble finding an amazing church or healthy community, I encourage you to start a neighborhood or online Bible study. Maybe consider starting an office Bible study or workout group. If you\u2019re in school, consider asking a few girls to work out with you or do a book study together. You can form the community you\u2019re craving. Another great way to meet people is to volunteer in your community. You will be surprised by the women you meet outside your comfort zone.<\/p>\n Photo Credit: \u00a9iStock\/Getty Images Plus\/bernardbodo<\/span><\/p>\nGather in the Good and Bad Times<\/h2>\n
When others gossip, we speak life.
When others ignore, we lean in.
We are that sisterhood. We are those girls. Speak this over yourself: \u201cI\u2019m that girl.\u201d
When you understand the power of a gathering of women,<\/p>\nGather with the Presence<\/h2>\n