A
ccepting the Invite
After the end of a five-year relationship, I felt like I was starting life all over again. I felt alone and didn’t have a community around me. In many ways, it was just me and the Lord, but even in that loneliness, I found a surprising sense of peace.
That evening began what I came to call “dating the Lord” setting aside intentional time with Him and recognizing His invitation to be part of my life. Cooking, crafting, self-care nights, and adventures around the city became more than ways to fill my time. They became opportunities to welcome Him into the things I enjoyed. What I once thought of as solo time began to feel like time shared with Him. The more I invited Him in, the more I felt loved, seen, and formed. I began discovering a confidence and sense of worth that I didn’t have to wait for a romantic relationship to give me. That journey also changed how I approached dating. I became more confident about who I was, what mattered to me, and the care and respect I wanted in a relationship. I was no longer looking to another person to establish my worth; I was learning to receive it through the Lord’s love.
One New Year’s Eve, I decided to spend the evening by myself. What I thought might be a sad night became the beginning of something beautiful. I poured a glass of wine, made chocolate-covered strawberries, and created a vision board, inviting the Lord into my hopes and goals. Somewhere in that simple evening, my perspective changed. I wasn’t just spending the night alone. I was making room to be with Him.
It felt like the best date I had ever been on
From Solitude to Sisterhood
Eventually, I took a leap that frightened me: I moved from my home state of Florida to Virginia.
There, the Lord led me to an incredible community of women. Each brought something different: creative talents, generous hearts, inspiring personalities, and prayer lives that encouraged me to grow.
One of my closest friends, Jenny, and I felt so abundantly blessed by the community the Lord had brought into our lives. Somewhere along the way, we started saying....
“God’s a girl dad”
During a silly conversation with our girlfriends, that little saying sparked the idea for “Gods Gals Go Out.” We had been talking about how we felt a little stagnant at young-adult events and were longing for more: deeper friendships, new experiences, and space to simply have fun together as women.
Then the idea grew beyond going out. I began inviting women into my home for simple evenings together: painting pumpkins, bringing soups to share, crafting, and talking.
Share what you have, make room for someone else, and letting friendship grow.
THE BEGINNING OF GODS GALS
This past year, I felt inspired to take things one step further. After being blessed with a home big enough to host, I felt a desire to make Gods Gals something more... a apostolate where we could grow in this together.
I began to wonder: What if we learned something from one another, then carried it home as a new way to allow the Lord to date us, to welcome His love into the things we enjoy and let Him meet us there?
A recipe shared could become an evening of cooking with the Lord. A rosary made together could become an invitation to prayer. Even a moment of loneliness could become a conversation with Him, an opportunity to let Him turn something we learned into a little date, personal to us.
