"Lost and Found" (By: Jess)

Toby and I are part of a small group at church. Our group is called "Lost and Found". I'm not really sure where the name came from...in fact, this may be a question I might ask at our next meeting.... but joining this group is one of the best decisions I (we) have ever made.

I am totally gonna take credit for finding this group for us. Cause, well, I did. I wanted to get more involved with our church and meet more people (our age) from Brookwood. I got online and investigated. I was drawn to the "Clark Small Group" mainly because they were located in the same area where we lived. That's all I knew about the group. I mentioned joining a small group to Toby a couple times before officially contacting the leaders of the group, and to my surprise, he was a little untrusted. If you know my husband, you know that he is my "shy guy". He like to keep to himself and is more observant than social..... the total opposite of me. Which is why I think we mesh so well. Anyway- he was willing and I was gonna run with it.

I contacted the leaders of the group and got us an invitation to a local wing place to meet everyone. Neither one of us said anything to each other, but we were both so nervous! A thousand "what if's" were running through my mind and Toby was TRYING to play it so cool, but I could see right through him. We arrived there (thankfully not too early....which is what we usually do when we are nervous) and immediately met up with the leaders of our group.

We had some small talk in the waiting area, which went well, and walked back to our table. Immediately we were told that it was not a big deal if we wanted to order an adult beverage (wine, beer, margarita, ect..) We were told that even though this was a "church group", no one there was gonna judge us, so if we wanted a drink, go ahead and order one.

I could almost hear the choir singing in the background.

Huge smiles slowly spread across Toby and I's faces and I swear I would actually "see" both of us relaxing and breathe a sigh of relief.

Already this group seemed like a perfect match for us.

We had a great time that night and decided to go back again next week for the next meeting. And the next. And the next.

Now these people are people I call "friends". They play a huge role in both our lives. Though it took Toby a little longer to "warm up" then it did me, we both are so thankful to God for leading us to these peeps.

I look forward to Tuesday's so much. (That's when our group meets) I look forward to seeing everyone's smiles and socializing with everyone. I love the topics of discussion we get ourselves into. I love learning more about my faith and relationship with God, as well as everyone else's. I love seeing my husband open up to everyone and discover more about his relationship with God. I love the books we read and study.....books that I probably would never read is it wasn't for this group. I love all the extra activities we do together, outside of bible study. Even though Toby and I's schedules usually prevent us from attending a lot of the activities, we are thrilled to join in on the ones we can attend. I love the "girls nights" that the ladies plan occasionally. I love the support that everyone offers everyone else. I love getting to know all these people more and more as time goes on.

But most of all, I love the fact the God lead me (us) directly to this group. No one else could have picked a more perfect match for us. He sure knows what He's doing. :)