Three years ago, I moved to New Jersey.
I had just graduated from college, we were in the middle of a pandemic, and I was moving to a strange place, starting a new job, and meeting completely new people. At first, I was worried joining a small group might be adding too much to what seemed like an already full plate. However, it became exactly what I needed.
The women that I got to know through small group were so helpful in navigating this time of transition in life. It was a great space to talk through life: challenges with work, relationships, family. I was incredibly grateful I could talk about all of these things with women of faith, who were all striving after the same kind of life I was trying to lead. Being able to lean on one another in difficult times, talk about dryness or consolations in prayer, and receive wisdom and advice from one another was truly a gift.
I was incredibly grateful I could talk about all of these things with women of faith, who were all striving after the same kind of life I was trying to lead.
It’s an incredible blessing to know you have a group of people in your life praying for you, and there to support you. If there was any encouragement I could give to someone joining a small group, it’s that you’ll get what you put into it. It was often the weeks when I felt stretched too thin, or considered not showing up, that the Lord worked the most powerfully through these women He had put in my life. It has certainly been an exercise in vulnerability for me, but one that has paid off generously in my relationships with others and with the Lord.
- Hailey, Compass Member
Hi everyone! My name is Hailey, I'm originally from Tampa, FL, graduated from UCF, and served at Seton Hall University with SPO for the past three years, ministering to college students and walking with them in their faith journey. This upcoming fall I'll be starting graduate school at Divine Mercy University for mental health counseling, and work towards a career as a Catholic therapist. I will be living in NJ and participating in the People of Hope!