stories

Small and Subtle Ways

Arianne

These are stories of ordinary people from Reservoir whose lives were meaningfully impacted by our faith community. Check back for new stories coming every so often.

I found my way to Reservoir Church in the Fall of 2010 and really became deeply connected to this community via SEEK, a class for people feeling new to faith or open to re-exploring it after previous experiences.  There, I not only met new wonderful friends, but I also found the power and joy of connecting with God together.  I had always been not-so-secretly jealous of people who “heard from God,” either through prayer or scripture study or some other practice.  That just hadn’t been my story.  What I found out, though, is how God can use other people to communicate directly to your utmost needs.

I’ll never forget walking home from dinner with a good friend and SEEK co-leader.  I was telling him how excited I was to attend a retreat tailored to people seeking healing from past hurts and obstacles.  “I can’t wait,” I told him. “I just feel like I’m heading for a tremendous breakthrough. Something big!”

My friend smiled and looked at me.  “That’s certainly possible,” he replied. “But my hope for you is that you would be open to the small and subtle ways God is nudging you and being revealed to you.”  I stopped walking and stared blankly for a moment.  I distinctly remember feeling really warm all over, from the inside out, despite the fall weather.  Though I can’t explain how or why, I just knew, beyond all possible doubt, that this was an important framing for me to keep in mind.  To this day, I believe God wanted me to hear that message and internalize it, and it could really only come from someone I deeply respect and trust.  Someone I happened to meet at our church.

Sure enough, the “small and subtle ways” of God have proved instrumental to my life, not just during that weekend retreat, but in nearly every way and every day.  For someone like me who gets caught up in the big picture, be it positive or negative, I am constantly being re-centered and realigned in relationship to the one who calls me to be still, to notice, and to draw closer to a good and beautiful God.

What to expect on a Sunday at Reservoir