Little by little

by Bethanna Hobbs

Something I have been reflecting on recently is how much we can strive in order to feel worthy of a connection with God. We often hold ourselves to a really high standard of perfection, or at least I do and maybe you can relate? If I haven’t read the Bible, or set aside twenty minutes to sit in silence and pray, or journaled, worshipped enough, or continuously had open dialogue with God, then maybe I am not worthy of hearing His voice or maybe I don’t deserve to. Or maybe we feel too broken, unsure, hesitant, or completely unmotivated to even try.

The truth is, none of us deserve the relationship we are offered and despite appearances no-one is perfectly put together but still He gives Himself to us freely and unconditionally; a non-striving, non-performative, immediate, no subscription access to Him.

As we know there are seasons of life when those things are easier to do and times when it feels impossible to even have a minute to breathe, let alone think. We might have questions or thoughts about who God is and who we are, and how it all fits in to our lives and that is more than ok! We don’t have to have it all together to approach God. In fact the Bible is full of people who definitely did not have it together. We are held, and loved, and known exactly as we are, questions, struggles, joys, and triumphs; all of it.

All we really can do is be open, to say ‘God, I am here’ (and even then He already knows). We don’t ask our children to do x,y, or z to deserve our love, nor do we require them to know everything there is to know about the world. In fact, sometimes the best moments with them is just ‘being’ together. If that is true, how much more does God love it when we just ‘are’.

Take each day as it comes. Little by little, with an open heart and maybe, little by little we will learn something more, a quiet whisper of who God is and how He loves us and the other stuff will come.

Get to know: The Rolls-Sheppard Family

We have been coming to HTH Church since 2019 after joining an Alpha course that we finished online during Covid. In one of the last sessions we were invited to ask Jesus into our hearts. We asked the Lord for a sign so we could know His presence and after that, Toby saw the word ‘Jesus’ everywhere he went!

In Lockdown, Connie worked as a nurse in the community which was a scary time, but we felt Jesus’ presence with us and discerned His calling for us to be married. So, a year later and we got married at HTH.

Connie has a real passion for helping others and Toby has a love for working with children and is also studying to be a primary school teacher. We have been so blessed to be able to work with the children and families in the HTH community as volunteers (and now Toby is Children & Families Associate).

We have a beautiful daughter, Elsie, who is now two. She is so clever and brings us so much joy. We have seen Jesus working in her life and she is currently learning to pray. We are so delighted to be expecting baby number two in March, and are all very excited for the next chapter in our lives (and a little scared too!)

Toby, Connie, & Elsie x