Creating Spaces

I see her walking down the street. Little feet hanging out of the stroller in front of her. The only connection they have is to each other.

I see her ahead of me in line at the grocery store. Checking her phone for emails from work while trying to keep her family fed.

I see her at the park. Hoping for a few minutes peace while her little one and mine play on the playground.

I see them, the group of women laughing together. Their just a few picnic tables away from where I scroll on my phone. But it seems as if I’m watching them from across a galaxy. That easy way they talk with one another. How smoothly they move from breastfeeding to age appropriate apps. What a gift they have to have each other. I must be staring to hard, because one of them looks over and catches my eye. I try to disconnect by glancing down at my phone as if it has the answer to all of the world’s questions, but no dice. The lady wearing cargo shorts and a tank top walks over.

When she says hello and asks me to join her, I want to so badly. But I also am afraid of the ease at which they all are conversing. It’s an ease that didn’t come naturally, it took some work from those women. Is  the reward worth the effort? I decide yes, yes it is. I catch my oldest’s eye and motion that I’m moving a few tables over so my kids know where I’m going. Then I dive in to my first unofficial MOPS hangout.

MOPS became a safe place for me. It was a place for me to grow and learn. It was a time when I could have conversations that didn’t always have to do with Spiderman, My Little Pony or Paw Patrol. MOPS was a place that I got to have some snacks and no one else took my last bite of food. I found friendship and community. I found accountability and challenge.This was a place that I could be poured into and no one asked for a glass from my pitcher.  MOPS was a place to hear about a relationship with a guy named Jesus, but I never felt threatened or intimidated by Him. I heard words like grace, forgiveness and love.

MOPS was never a place where I had to open a Bible and stumble across unfamiliar pages and words. MOPS was never a place that I had to pray in front of any one. I didn’t have to hear words that I didn’t understand. I wasn’t confronted and told to confess. I never felt like I was less than so someone else could feel better. There was hardly ever a morning where I walked away confused about the message I had heard. If I was ever confused, there was someone to ask questions to until I understood.

This is what I want to bring to Northside. And what I need your help cultivating.

Two places of connection for women in our community. Two places that will expand the outreach of Northside. Because, I believe, we need to step into our community and provide places for the unconnected people of this world to find connection. Won’t you join me in offering this kind of place?

Place One:  A place for young women that have barely entered womanhood. I want to create a space for them to come with their peers and see that there is hope in their struggle. That they are not alone in this new and frightening season of motherhood. There are others who have been where they have been and have triumphed. That there are women who can bring perspective and love to these young mommas. We’ll be teaching them life skills like budgeting, meal planning, insurance, how to break free from the cycle of poverty. It will be a long-term investment with these Mommas and their kids. We will need boundaries but also a discerning heart when working with these young women.

I also need your help in setting up small groups for women who are a little further along in their mothering journey. This Momma could be struggling with figuring out who she is now that the kids are in school all day. Or maybe she’s been homeschooling for a while and needs a place to get a break or a different view. This woman is past the glaring need of the infant, toddler and preschool years. She may have a bit more time. Or is figuring out how to enter the workforce and still take care of her family. Maybe her marriage needs some work and there is finally the space to do that work. Or any other innumerable reasons, a MOMSNext small group can be a place that we can say, “Me too. I struggle with that as well.”

Overall, MOPS was a place that I found community. It was a place I learned to be a better friend, wife, mom, leader and person. MOPS was a safe place for me to ask tough questions and be answered with grace, truth and love. It was never about learning how to be a Christian, but I did become closer to Jesus through my time in MOPS. It is my sincere hope and prayer that these ministries will be that kind of place for both teen moms and the MOMS Next mom.