The Positives of Fellowship

I wasn't quite sure why I wanted to join CCW when I went to my first meeting a year and a half ago.  It may have been because I had read about the group in the church bulletin and thought that it might be a nice way to meet people from our new church and also help me find avenues to strengthening my faith.  I was a little bit surprised that I had even gone to a meeting as I had decided when I moved to Florida that I wasn't interested in meeting anyone new.  I had loved my friend group that I taught with in Milford, and I believed that was enough for me.  The first CCW meeting went well, however, and I decided to go back.  Soon I was looking forward to the monthly meetings and even signed up to volunteer in the gift shop.  It was nice to feel like I was helping and gave me something social to do outside of the house.  

When I got a call from one of the longtime members asking me if I would be interested in running for office, I declined.  I had enjoyed being a part of the group but wasn't looking for a commitment.  They called again and asked if this time I would think about being on the ballot for treasurer so they would at least have a second person running in that position.  I knew that I had the experience for the office as I had been both the treasurer for the Syracuse PTO and the Library Board, but wasn't really wanting the position, especially since several other women were a lot more interested. I went ahead and said yes and when I found out that I had won, I was a little bit overwhelmed.  The position seemed to be more work that I had expected.  I have done my best to make it work this year, and although I don't love it, I do believe that I have done a good job with it and have made the transition to a shared account with the church as positive as possible.

I have quickly learned that the best part about being on the executive board hasn't been the actual treasurer position, but the other parts of the job.  By being on the board, I have been able to volunteer for additional roles in the group and have gotten to know a lot more members.  I have gone to lunch on my own with them, had conversations with them at church, and have enjoyed seeing friendly faces at mass.  During the past few months, I have also helped to start a luncheon group that provides fellowship for women outside of our meetings.  We held one yesterday at a new restaurant in Ocala Palms, and I enjoyed it very much.  Today, I even went to a funeral mass for a woman's husband that I had met through CCW.  She was instrumental in encouraging me to attend Bible study, and I appreciated that very much.  It was amazing to see all of the other women in CCW at the funeral as well.  As I drove home from the mass, I thought about how wrong I had been when I moved here.  Finding fellowship wasn't about giving up the friends that I had, but enhancing my life here instead.