I moved to the state of Florida about 2.5 years ago. When my husband and I moved, we were relocating from a part of upstate NY that I had called home for basically all of my life. I had friends, community, people who cared about...
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I moved to the state of Florida about 2.5 years ago. When my husband and I moved, we were relocating from a part of upstate NY that I had called home for basically all of my life. I had friends, community, people who cared about me, and those who wanted to see my faith grow. I thought for sure, upon moving to Florida, we would find the same things here.
Florida, however, is a strange place, where creating community can be such a hurdle. My husband and I plugged into a local church a couple months after moving here and visiting several locations. We wanted something that wasn't so big we would get lost in the crowd. It wasn't long before we were also serving at the church in their worship and audio ministries. However, there was a giant lack of women's ministry in the church, and when addressed with leadership, I figured it would not change. I continued to serve and help while my own Well was running dry. By the time I got pregnant the following year, something we knew we were planning on doing in Florida but something I was certain I'd have far more community support in navigating, I had few friends (and none outside of where I was working) and was struggling.
My therapist explored this with me one day in our sessions and recommended the Well ministry. I was in my spring semester working at a local Christian school, so at the time I was unable to find a class in that season that fit my schedule. I attended my first Well class (after having to miss the Spring pop up due to a death in our family) the summer of 2023 -- and it forever changed my life.
I decided to take a study based around J.P. Pokluda's book "Why Do I Do What I Don't Want to Do?" with Emily and Marisa. From the first moment I walked through the door, I was greeted with hugs and warm welcomes. That first bible study was such a great experience, even though I ended up having to miss several weeks of the meetings due to summer travel and having to go back to teach in early August. I walked away knowing that I wanted to get back into a study when I was on maternity leave.
Which I did -- I showed up to Christy and Janelle's "Sacred Marriage" class with a brand new baby, not realizing how much I needed the Well.
Prior to making it to class. I contacted Emily and Marisa about having my baby (they asked me to please let them know) and my husband and I were blessed with 2 weeks of meals from this group. I had attended just one class and the outpouring of support was touching. Aside from our church providing us meals, no one at my workplace ended up helping out, and my husband and I have no family in the area. The love the women poured out on us in this time is indescribable. And it was only the start.
Walking into Janelle and Christy's class, I had no idea that season I was about to walk into. A couple weeks after my daughter's birth, I started facing crippling post partum anxiety. And. These. Women. Showed. Up. My prayer group during Sacred Marriage cared for much for me, I truly felt loved and seen. When I confessed that I needed help, Christy jumped to it and a rotation of women came to my house throughout the week to hold my baby while I showered or took a nap, bringing me coffee and hugs. As a new mom going THROUGH IT, it makes me well up writing this now. I genuinely don't know where I would have ended up if it wasn't for the care of these women. And they never came empty handed -- they brought gifts for my baby, one woman who has become a sister to me brought me a bath care package to take time for myself. They were the hands and feet of Jesus that I needed.
And that is not even to mention the spiritual growth and discipleship I have experienced in my classes. I have been challenged not only by the materials read and reviewed in class, but also by the women I have learned alongside. The Well is a beautiful place because it is a picture of what the church should be -- I have been in classes with women from every denomination, different parts of the world, differing ethic and racial groups, different walks of life, different stages of life and...