Finding Home After A Move
Sean’s small group story
When my wife, Cheney, and I moved here from Maryland, we knew it would be an adjustment. What I didn’t realize was how much it would take out of me personally.
Moving at any stage of life is hard. Moving later in life is a different kind of hard. We’d spent years building a life—friends who knew our story, family close by, a rhythm that felt like home. Then, almost overnight, all of that was behind us.
At first, I stayed busy unpacking boxes and learning my way around. But once things settled, the quiet set in. I missed our friends. I missed being known. And over time, I realized I was longing for something deeper than company. I was longing for community—people who were hungry for Jesus too, who would walk with me in my faith and my pursuit of him.
Somewhere in that season, something became clear to me. A relationship with Jesus is personal, but it was never meant to be lived alone.
Then came the nudge. Cheney and I both felt it—that quiet prompting in our hearts that said, “Hey, it’s about time.” Not just time to find community. Time to start a group of our own.
We said yes, and God changed our lives from there.
We grew in every part of life. We felt closer to God than we had in a long time. We started serving together. We started praying for other people together, carrying their needs alongside our own. And because of that, our marriage has never been stronger. There’s something about watching God work in the lives of friends, side by side, that draws you closer to each other too.
To this day, we still meet.
If you’ve never been part of a small group, here’s what it looks like for us: doing life together. We share a meal. We laugh—a lot. Some weeks, group is the highlight of our week. It’s what keeps us going.
I think that’s why groups change people. In a crowd, you can be seen without ever being known. In a group, you get known. It gives you a place to open up your heart. That doesn’t happen all at once, and trust takes time. For me, it meant learning to trust God and giving people the chance to know me—the real me.
The first step is the hardest one. But it’s worth it.
So if you’re in a season like the one I was in—new to the area, missing old friends, wondering where you fit—take that first step. Give people a chance to know you. Give God a chance. Because you never know what God can do.