…a brief glance…

?Do you ever find yourself taking a picture in your heart?pausing for a moment, letting everything sink in, taking in every little intricate detail, who was there, what they were wearing, where they were sitting, what the expression on their faces were? I did that today. It tugged at my heart in such a way that I needed to make the quickest exit as it brought me to tears.

The house on Sulgrave Road has not only been a home for our Connect Group?it?s been home in the most important ways a place could be home. Every Thursday without a shadow of doubt or hesitation, no matter how badly your week or day has been, once someone opens that door, regardless who it is, you were showered with a welcoming smile and a much needed a hug, without fail it always touched you to the very core. For it was real and it is genuine. It is welcome home.

No matter if it?s your first time, you?re a regular, or you live there (whether officially or unofficially) these people make an impact in your life, and you make an impact in theirs. Needless to say I love my Connect Group to bits. I feel so incredibly blessed that God has positioned me to do life with such an amazing bunch of people. How timely it all fell together. H?Smith Connect had a way of drawing the very best out of you. At the same time it made you step out of your shell. For at the other side were a bunch of people encouraging you with open arms.

Tonight as I turned my back to say something, my heart leapt out of my chest and sadness crept in. That familiar lump in one?s throat as tears threatened to fall as I realized it was the last time I was going to be standing in that house. By that doorway, sitting on that floor, in a single moment numerous memories came flooding in. Countless weeks of Connect flashed before me?the hours we spent in the kitchen, staying late to chat, I even recall a session of D4, and who could ever forget Pa?s special way of saying ?J? ?hehe. That?s only to name a few. As I looked at that room one last time, I take note as my eyes fell on the people that have such a special place in my heart, with these guys I have revealed heart and soul?week after week ?months down the line I realize that in that room is where I began to really find me and who I was. So many tears were shed in that room. The strength I now have was taken from those around me. Most of all, in that room I learned to seek God above all else and do it wholeheartedly.

It?s just a room?It could have been anywhere but I am thankful it was in Hammersmith, and it was in Sulgrave Road, with the greatest bunch of people I have ever met.

I am grateful that God loves me so much that he has blessed me with such awesome people to do life with. People who have come alongside me and encouraged me to grow. So Hammersmith Connect?Thank you. Know that no matter where I am, every Thursday night, my heart will be with you?so in the words of Lil? Aimee?Can I get a whoop whoop?