Soul Food

When I quit my job to stay at home with Mason, one thing I knew I wanted to do was get more involved with our church, and more specifically to get more involved with the women in our church.  I knew once I became a mom, I would want to get to know other moms who have kids around Mason's age who share the same general values.  After all, two of my very best friends are girls I met through our church, so I figure it is a pretty great place to make friends :)  
On top of wanting to meet other women, I just really felt like I needed to dig deeper in the Word, stretch myself a little bit, and figure out how God is going to use me in my "new role".  So, as I began to think about all of this God just opened the doors to a few opportunities.  
First of all, one of my friends mentioned above, wanted to join the "Mom's" group on Friday mornings.  I must admit, I was a little hesitant about signing up because I just wasn't sure how I would fit in.  Call me judgmental, but I guess I had some preconceived ideas about this particular group.  I shared my concerns (if you will) with my other friend that I mentioned above because she has participated in this group before and she assured me I would be just fine and that I should at least try it out.  So, I signed up and we are going into week three and I have really enjoyed the group so far.  I still feel a bit out of place because I'm new, but that is part of that stretching process for me -- I don't really enjoy being in large groups and not knowing many people. 
The Mom's group is a little more of a light-hearted, feel good type of group.  We have a large group breakfast and speaker -- topics range from seasonal decorating ideas to intentional parenting to sex -- and then we split into smaller groups for discussions.  Like I said, we are only going into our third week so we haven't had too much discussion yet, but I'm sure we will get there.  I've already met a handful of people who I've seen around church in the past, so I'm at least getting to know a few more names.
The next opportunity that God presented was another group made up of different generations of women that meets one evening a week for dinner, Bible study and small group discussion.  I was invited to be a part of the group last year, but we were in the midst of our adoption and working on our house and I just knew I did not have the time to devote to the group.  And you know what, I don't think I would have valued the group at that time in my life like I'm anticipating I will now.  Again, God's timing is ALWAYS perfect!  This group is something my soul has craved for some time now.  We had our first meeting last night and I just can't wait to dig into the study.  
I know that in order for me to be a good wife and a good mother, I need to be continually fed by God's word and I need to have an outlet where I can connect with other women who have been in my shoes or who are sharing in the same struggles and joys as me.  I'm so thankful that God has provided for us in a way that allows me to be home and enjoy this time to grow and to influence our little guy's life.  My soul is happy!