Beginning Again: Held in Patience, Renewed in Presence

There is something sacred about beginning again.

After a season of pause—a quiet hiatus from facilitating meditation—I recently had the privilege of returning to this work with a women’s group I deeply cherish. As I stepped back into that space, I carried both anticipation and humility, wondering how it might feel to guide others again into stillness, into presence, into God.

Grounded in Bible New Revised Standard Version, we centered our time on Romans 12:12:
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.”

It was the middle portion—be patient in suffering—that gently held us.

The Sacred Pause

In a world that urges us to fix, to move, to resolve—patience in suffering feels almost countercultural. Yet, as we settled into stillness together, something shifted.

We sat.
We breathed.
We allowed.

There was no striving—only being.

And in that being, I was reminded once again how powerful it is to simply sit in the moment. To rest in silence. To release the need to understand or solve. To trust that even here—especially here—God is present.

A Collective Exhale

As the session unfolded, I could feel it—the subtle but unmistakable shift in the room.

A collective sigh.

That quiet, shared release that happens when we finally allow ourselves to be held rather than to hold everything together.

There is something deeply moving about witnessing women come together in vulnerability and strength. As each person softened into the moment, there was a palpable sense of the Spirit moving among us—filling the spaces we often try to carry alone.

No words were needed.

Just presence.
Just breath.
Just God.

Patience in the Unbearable

“Be patient in suffering” does not mean passive endurance. It is not about ignoring pain or pretending strength.

It is about trust.

Trust that even in the most unbearable moments, we are not abandoned.
Trust that God is at work in ways we cannot yet see.
Trust that we are being held—even when everything feels uncertain.

In that space of meditation, I was reminded—and I believe we all were—that patience is not about waiting for suffering to end, but about allowing God to meet us within it.

God is My Refuge — I Am Held

This truth settled deeply in my spirit as we closed our time together:

God is my refuge.
I am held.

Not someday.
Not when things improve.
But right now—in the middle of it all.

The Gift of Returning

Facilitating these sessions again reminded me that this work is never about perfection or performance. It is about presence. It is about creating space—sacred, intentional space—where people can encounter God in stillness.

And what a gift it is to witness renewal happen, not through effort, but through surrender.

As we begin again—again and again—may we remember:

• We are allowed to pause

• We are invited to be present

• We are strengthened, even in suffering

• We are held