How God Answered My (in)RL Prayer

Last year the only (in)RL meetup in Orlando was huge. (Read: 200 people). And so (in)RL got bumped off my calendar. I mean how do you make genuine real life connections in a room full of 200 people? Us introverts don't do that. And so hoping for something smaller I vowed that I would be a meetup host this year.

In January another host contacted me about combining our groups. It was a fine idea and she seemed nice enough but my fear of large numbers won out. And I stayed the course hoping for a small meetup where introverts could feel safe and genuine relationships could be cultivated.

And then the months went on and my meetup stayed small. At its height there were four of us registered. And before it was over that number dwindled. And don't we all know that "comparison is the thief of joy." And as I started looking at other groups in my area my insecurities crept up to the surface. And I got scared. And discouraged. And thought about bailing.

But then God so graciously reminded me that this is what I had prayed for. A small group. That was easy for an introvert and safe for rich conversation to occur. And so I stayed the course.

On Friday night I broke the rules and a friend who couldn't come Saturday came bearing two kinds of curry. We watched the videos together and talked about theology and asked hard questions. And it was good. And safe. And our relationship grew.

On Saturday I had an introvert's dream come true.  I prepared a brunch spread of quiche, fruit salad and cranberry goat cheese. And then I spent three easy hours enjoying everything with one of my best friends. We watched the videos and paused the videos. And talked about pain, and friendship, and parenting. And it was good. And our relationship grew.

 So if anyone ever asks me about staying in community when it would have been easier to leave, I will share the story of the time I hosted an (in)RL meetup. And God answered my prayer.