God’s faithfulness and answered prayers. Soreness and roast beef sandwiches. Friends and family. Victories and next steps.

That was last weekend.

It began on Friday, with homecoming weekend for my high school girls, and the Wall of Fame induction for one of my longest teammates, Kat. She couldn’t be there, but I helped her FaceTime in to watch our coach share her accolades and hear her mom read her prewritten thank-you’s at the banquet. It was a fun and beautiful night.

From there I drove to Indiana to help a best friend, Jen, move. The two-hour drive allowed me to witness the joy of transferring her from an apartment to a four-bedroom home, ripe for the ministry of hospitality she does so well. The transition has been a long time coming. While she still wants to make all kinds of changes, she’s there, and that’s a small miracle.

Saturday was a long day, and I don’t say that lightly. Only God knows how many miles we drove. The move may’ve been across town, but so many people offered free furniture that we had to make rounds. Thankfully, those drives were full of sunshine and sing-alongs.

I think there were fifteen of us friends who volunteered to help, dragging appliances, bedframes, bookshelves (sooo many bookshelves), and boxes in and out of our vehicles. The engineers among us disassembled tables, couches, and even railings to move up and down the stairs. Some loaded their cars with delicate frames and artwork, eventually topping things off with pillows and buckets of odds and ends. Gently, powerfully, a symphony of work arose in the new house, where each went about the task of his or her gifting to accomplish the end goal of settling Jen and her family.

In the afternoon, we ate lunch together. We laughed and told the stories of our endeavors between bites of chips and macaroni salad. The sun continued to kiss the yard, filling us with energy and hope. Slowly, the volunteers slipped away, grateful for fellowship and happy to have served.

At dinner that night, after more errands and assembly of other projects, Jen, her parents and I sat down for leftovers. Jen prayed, and quickly began to cry with gratitude for the blessing she received that day: an outpouring of generosity through furniture, time, energy, and strength. It was a fun opportunity for me to work with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, but suddenly the reality fell on me. Without the people who stepped in that day, rest would’ve been hard for us to reach.

The house isn’t as Jen would like it yet, but she managed to rest on Saturday evening and even on Sunday afternoon after church. It made me chuckle, watching her struggle to slow herself down. She dreams so big and executes with so much tenacity that rest takes its own kind of effort from her. I was proud of her not only for what she accomplished, but also for how she practiced letting go and enjoying the fruit of her labor.

Entering into this week, my body was tired and sore, in all the best ways. I’m overjoyed for my friends, for the recognition of work well done and goals achieved. I’m grateful to be part of their support systems, sharing memories, glories, and tears. These celebrations cast my eyes upward in worship to the Giver of sweet gifts, and they remind me that I can move forward in faith toward my God who is good and does good.

Thanks for reading. I’m working on a little themed series for October, so keep your eyes peeled! You can receive new posts directly to your inbox when you click the “Follow Rebekah” button.