Fellowship Memphis

It’s pretty amazing what happens when you let someone else choose your family. I’m not talking about just any someone; I’m talking about the one who knows me better than anyone, my Father, Abba, God. Without a question, this is what happened for me.

Eight years ago I moved from Savannah, GA to Memphis. While living in Savannah for 14 years I was hours away from my traditional family. It was at that time, however, that I learned of a different kind of family—the family of a group of people my Savannah church called “Small Groups.” In some ways, we were similar to a traditional family; many of our gatherings were centered around food, outings, birth and marriage. We laughed and cried together. In other ways my Small Group was better than my traditional family: we were bonded together with the Holy Spirit, we shared hurts with each other that you are sometimes too ashamed or frightened to share with a mother or brother, we celebrated in watching God answer our prayers for each other, and we lived life in a way the world would call “uncommon.”

Little did I know that God had another family in store for me, a brand new one that He was forming in a different city for a different time. Three years after moving to Memphis I found myself divorced, my oldest daughter leaving for college, and my youngest daughter clinging to me as our life became an avalanche. I am thankful for the wonderful group of friends God gave me to support me through that time but I still didn’t have family. For seven years, after moving I searched for another church home and within that home I knew that my family was waiting.

Last summer, God opened the door of my new home and family. I came to Fellowship just as it was transitioning to Colonial. One of the first things that caught my attention was the sign up for Community Groups. I have always considered myself somewhat introverted, but I knew the benefits being in this kind of group, and I was not about to pass it up. Within a few weeks, I was placed in a Community Group. My Father had given me a new family, and it is amazing! Part of it looks like a traditional family: we are multi-generational, men and women, and we love to eat. The other part is that family that world would call “uncommon.” We are multi-cultural, we celebrate a great God together and we support each other in ways the world does not understand.

My Fellowship Family has grown and bonded together in a few short months in ways that would take a traditional family years or even a lifetime to reach. We know each other’s sorrows, heartbreaks, fears, pains, happiness, joys, voices, and hearts. They are here for me, no matter what. I love each and every member of this extraordinary family, and know that God has blessed me by choosing them for me.