Beautiful, Reciprocal Grace

Years ago, a friend of mine gave me a box of illustrated scripture cards, sweet little notes with verses from scripture accompanied by colorful illustrations. One of the cards read, Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25). Two girls sat at a cafe table drawn on the card, sipping drinks through straws, joy apparent on their faces. I’ve kept that card in my stationary box for a long time, but I’m not sure I understood what the verse really meant until recently. 

After a few decades of vocational ministry, I’ve begun to notice the worn faces of women all around me. I’m seeing people who have devoted their lives to caring for others in a multitude of ways beginning to show wear, fraying along the edges. I particularly notice women in the “sandwich” stage of life, squeezed between caring for children as well as aging parents, all the while serving, volunteering, leading, working, etc. etc. It’s exhausting.

Earlier this year, I gathered a group of my friends together and explained to them what I was seeing. I didn’t need to say much; they were seeing it, too. Even experiencing it themselves. Fatigue, pressure, too many demands for care on a limited human being. Women desperately in need of refreshment, but not finding what they need.

One quick Instagram scroll on any of our accounts will reveal what our algorithm says we need. Self-care, supplements, a spa day, exercise, stretchy pants, a vacation. (Definitely not knocking any of those things, believe me, especially the stretchy pants.) But they’re all a quick fix, surface-level solutions; they don’t address the deep fatigue so many women feel deep in their bones.

So my genius friends helped me create a day of refreshment to offer to worn-out women. Our goal is simple: to create a space for God to refresh His people. To create a day for women who daily devote themselves to refreshing others, a day to come together in order to be refreshed themselves. We’re simply calling it Refresh. 

We pull out all the stops. Each of my friends has a God-given gift that she generously contributes to make this day one-of-a-kind. We serve homemade delicious food all day long on beautifully inviting tablescapes. We offer a variety of workshops such as guided movement, guided stillness, or guided creativity. One our team offers spiritual direction appointments for guests throughout the day. Our guests have the opportunity to spend time alone with God, take a walk through the woods, or swing on the tree swing. We’ve hosted two Refresh days so far, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Sixteen women have attended Refresh, and have left feeling seen, refreshed, and loved.

But something happened that I was not expecting. My incredible friends who planned and prepped and gathered to refresh other women, we ourselves were refreshed. We were filled with anticipation, joy, and laughter as we worked together to create this day for other women. I expected our guests to be refreshed, but I was surprised at the extent to which our team experienced the refreshment of the Lord. I shouldn’t have been surprised! This is Proverbs 11:25 in action. This delightful surprise of God refreshing our beautiful team left me humbled and grateful.

Isn’t God’s promise a beautiful one? Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. It’s just like God to bless those who bless others, to turn that blessing right back around to the giver. It’s a beautiful, reciprocal grace. We can’t wait to do it again.

If you know anyone who needs this kind of refreshment, we’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an email at lindsay@peoplelaunching.com.

Gratefully,

Lindsay