The Porch Club celebrated our ten-year anniversary this past weekend, traveling to Jacksonville, Florida for a beautiful wedding.

It was in 2004 when we got together for a drink after work one evening. We worked at a hospital in Nashville and our first after work outing, solidified our bond. We became The Porch Club.

I was new to Nashville in 2003 and had a rocky first year with financial and marriage troubles. The Porch Club was a sounding board for me, encouraging me during these hard times, but also asking hard questions about my relationship with God and others. We aren’t a “mutual admiration” society. We listen and explore, but never in judgment, only in love.

Some of our bi-annual meetings are detailed in my book, Chasing My Father. We’ve been through marriages and divorces, new babies and unemployment. We’ve lost friends and ex-husbands to cancer, and had cancer ourselves. Through it all we’ve developed a bond that only comes when people experience both the highs and lows of life, not afraid to laugh and weep together. We don’t question why things happen or blame God, but instead help each other see what purposes God has for us.

We get together twice each year for four days, and we’ve settled into a routine of cooking great meals, drinking wine, watching a movie, getting pedicures, and just sitting on the back porch getting caught up on each other’s lives. We ask advice and give it freely. Before the weekend is over, we worship together. Although we don’t practice the same denomination, we come together as Christ’s children to thank God for being first in our lives. This photo is from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Jacksonville, Florida where The Porch Club met and worshiped this weekend.

The Porch Club has fortified my faith with the friendship and guidance of these three women.

I pray that you have people in your life who will listen without judging and help you celebrate your faith in God.

Happy Anniversary to The Porch Club.

Blessings,
gatha

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