Listen

Being a part of a life group is about so much more than just reading and discussing a book.  Certainly, having a focused study that delves into our faith walk is important but equally important, if not more, are the relationships that are formed within a group.  Those relationships are built by sharing and listening – by being supportive and prayerful of each other.

When we face challenges in life, we need a friendly, welcoming place to talk. A place where we are surrounded by like-minded people who often just listen, simply listen. We may plan that our evening meeting may focus on the next chapter of our book but instead find that someone that needs our help and support.  They’ve had a tough week: work issues, family issues, health issues. We may end up spending the entire evening just listening to what someone is sharing. We may offer some counsel. We’ll end up praying.  In fact, in our group we’ve concluded that our discussion itself – in God’s presence – is a form of prayer. 

For many of us here in Silicon Valley, there aren't many places where we can let our defenses down and pour out our hearts knowing people will listen, without judgment, without predisposition. For our group, every Wednesday night there is a place of respite – a friendly, welcoming place where we’re surrounded by friends who are walking our faith journey with us.  It may seem corny but the lyrics from the TV show Cheers seem to sum it up nicely:

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Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name, 
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows your name.

To me, that’s what my life group is: a place where everybody knows my name and they’re always glad I came. There’s not many places like that anymore.  Every morning I thank God for my group. I know we’re all praying for each other and for everyone’s needs and concerns, while knowing that the Lord is a part of our group as well.

Cheers!