I’m CSPC member Catherine Graham, and this is how I’m living deeply. 

“Just over three years ago, my husband decided it was time to retire. We were then living in Scottsdale, AZ, a wonderful part of the country where MANY people choose to retire to. We loved it out there… and we could easily have chosen to stay there upon retirement. I had my people; the ministries I was a part of & my circle of friends. And we had a church we both loved. The transition into retirement would have been easy for me. But we decided we would move somewhere new to start our retired life together. We have now been in Knoxville for two years. This is our 8th move in 35 years, so we are quite seasoned in ‘starting over’ in new cities! And one of the most important things we do is look for the right church. When we moved here, two of the few people we knew in town happened to work at & attend CSPC. But that didn’t keep us from visiting many different churches. When it came down to deciding, CSPC has the strongest teaching and is a well-established church that offers many ministries we hoped to be a part of. So it was where we landed to start this new season of life together. We decided to be intentional: intentional about what we wanted to be a part of, about meeting new people & forging new relationships, about how we spend our time & our talents. The good news -when it comes to meeting people & investing in relationships- is that we are back in the South! Woohoo! Personally, I can talk to the wall- meeting people is not hard for me. But for my husband, not so much. So being back in the South, where so many of the people are naturally warm, friendly ‘make the first move’ types, is just the BEST. Our CSPC friends, Clay & Bisha Harrington, invited us to dinner at their home, where they also invited two other couples. One of THOSE couples then invited us to dinner with them, and they invited another couple. THAT couple also invited us to dinner and then they invited a new couple. We were forging new relationships faster than we ever could’ve expected. It was amazing.

After joining the church, we plugged into a small group & a Sunday school class right away. Our class does something brilliant called Four by Fours. You sign up, and they pair you with three other couples. Each month for four months, one of the couples hosts- dinner at home, lunch after church, or a night out. Four meals with the same people. It’s a simple concept, but it’s one of the best ways to connect. Sometimes you click, sometimes you don’t. But either way, you get to know people in the class- you’re forming vital connections. Another way we decided to get involved was by meeting with the then-Director of Local Missions Kathryn Ann Laux. After hearing about my years serving as a Young Life Capernaum (YL’s ministry to those with special needs) volunteer in Arizona, she asked if I had ever heard of Joni & Friends. I had- but had never volunteered with them before. Kathryn Ann went on to explain that Joni & Friends Knoxville was preparing for its first summer offering a second week of its Family Retreat (typically the retreat had only been one week) and needed volunteers. This would have been my first summer to NOT go to camp with my friends with special needs, so I jumped at the chance! Let me tell you a tiny bit about the Family Retreat: When a family arrives at camp, volunteers unload everything from their car & take all the family’s belongings to their cabin. First-class treatment. But what’s even more special, not only does Susie, who’s in a wheelchair, have a buddy- so do her little brothers. They’re used to hearing, ‘No, we can’t do this or can’t go there… because we have to take Susie to therapy.’ But here? ‘Yes, Johnny, you get a buddy, and you can do all the activities camp has to offer!’  Meanwhile, parents are ministered to as well. Moms get a spa day, dads have a barbecue, and there’s even a date night. At Family Retreat, it isn’t just the child with special needs who’s ministered to, but the ENTIRE family that gets to receive all the love, joy & attention. It is truly an awesome week and I’m preparing to head back for my third summer. Want to join me?!?!?!?!

But we still weren’t done connecting to new friends & immersing ourselves in life with our new church family. There was one class CSPC offered that I knew I wanted to take as soon as we settled: Just Moved. It’s an outreach ministry to women who… you guessed it… have just moved to town. It’s based on Susan Miller’s book, After the Boxes are Unpacked. Susan was married to a Holiday Inn executive, and they moved a lot. She felt called to write a book about how God used those many moves to mold & shape her. And God has since turned her challenges into an international ministry that teaches women to trust God through life’s transitions. I first took this class in Charlotte, NC (where we made our 4th move!). I learned so much in that study about relying on God. It isn’t just a class- it’s a ministry, a lifeline, and a place where I found belonging amid a major life transition. And when I took the class again at CSPC, I experienced more really impactful moments. One was when a woman named Janie came to teach a chapter of the book. She shared how difficult it can be to just want someone to ask for your phone number- to make a simple, meaningful connection. So, after class, I walked up to her and asked, ‘Janie, can I have your phone number?’ And just like that, we swapped numbers. The next week, she texted me & asked me to lunch. Over that meal, we shared our stories, and she asked, ‘What’s your biggest concern right now?’ At the time, I had been in Knoxville for six months, and I told her, ‘I can meet people easily, but it’s harder for my husband Mark. Finding community for him is weighing on my heart.’ She listened. And then she did something about it. The next thing I knew, Janie invited six couples to her home for dinner and games. And Mark agreed to go, which was huge. (Remember: We were intentional to be TOGETHER on everything for this move!) That night, he met a group of men who were already in a Bible study together. Before long, they invited him in, and now he’s part of not one but two Bible studies! He found his community, even if it was in sort of a roundabout way, because of Just Moved! That was something I never expected.

So, you can see we have been INTENTIONAL in settling into our new hometown. We volunteer at church (I could write a whole other story about how much I love serving with The Lighthouse, a marvelous monthly outreach meeting for adults with special needs. It’s organized with love & excellence by the CSPC Special Needs Ministry!). We pursue relationships with other believers. We serve our community. But of all the ways we have become involved, one ministry stands out as a blessing that speaks uniquely to my life circumstances. Not long after we became members, CSPC started a new mentoring/discipleship program for women called Cultivate Mentoring. It helps women grow spiritually by pairing them with mentors eager to navigate all areas of life with them. I am the mother of three sons, no daughters (though I do now have two darling daughters-in-law). I love my boys with everything I have, but God has shown me that I do need some pink in my life! And He has provided those precious pink blessings over the years- I just hadn’t stopped & noticed them until now. But looking back on my life, He gave me young women to minister to while hiking down a steep mountain the night I asked Jesus into my heart. He gave me dear young college girls who led YL Capernaum with me in Arizona. And now He has given me two mentees, two surrogate mentees, and a co-mentor who all light up my life. I’m supposed to be one of the ‘wise older women.’ I thought I would be pouring into the younger women I’m supposed to be mentoring. But the truth is- they pour into me. Their faith is so intentional. They’re raising their kids with Christ at the center in a way I didn’t fully grasp when I was their age. It shapes how I now pray for my own children & grandchildren. It challenges me. It reminds me that loving others well is what I have to offer, and that’s enough. And I do love hard. I pray hard. And I get to keep doing that. Even in this season of transition, I get to. That’s a gift.

And the gift has just paid off in ways I could never have imagined. You see, my husband is a very health-conscious man. For more than 30 years he’s exercised regularly, eaten the right foods, and done all he could to keep his heart healthy. Mark’s been fighting hereditary heart disease- his father & grandfather both dropped dead of heart attacks in their thirties. By taking exceptional care of his body, Mark has more than doubled their lifespans. And yet, in late March, he came home from the gym complaining of chest pain. It didn’t last long. He had no other symptoms… until 4 days later. We went to the ER on a Friday morning, he had a heart catheterization that afternoon, and bypass surgery the following Tuesday. This is when God used our intentionality to turn around & bless us in our time of need. First, He showed up! From the moment the cardiologist said Mark needed a heart cath to learning he’d spend the weekend in the hospital awaiting either a stent or bypass surgery, we were both calm. We knew we could trust in the One who goes before us. And not only did God show up- so did our people! Just a few examples: Clay, our friend & pastor, came to pray with us. My co-mentor, mentee, & a friend from Just Moved sat with me during surgery. Men from both of Mark’s Bible studies visited. God even sent a nurse named Miracle to pray over Mark on his way into surgery. And, best of all, our three boys came in for the weekend. God provided so much comfort & encouragement through all these people & everyone who cooked for us once we came home. During Mark’s surgery, I clung to Jeremiah 17:7-8: ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord… He is like a tree planted by water… and does not fear when heat comes… and is not anxious in the year of drought.’ That passage is my banner now. Because we trust in Him, He will carry us. He did in our move. He did through this surgery. He will continue to as we trust the steps He has us take. And so here we are today, living in Knoxville & doing our best to be intentional: in how we spend our time, where we lend our talents, who we choose to do life with- trusting the One who goes before, knowing He will lead the way.”