I made a new friend/ divine intervention? :)

One of my goals for 2026 was to go to church a bit more often. I think my official goal was 26x in 2026 (average twice a month).

As one does, I started out the year pretty strong with several church visits in the first month or so. Then, as one also does, I petered off…. so, a May goal was to go to church 1 time this month. I figured one time is a LOW BAR and, according to my time logs, I do, in fact, have time to go. Anything I say otherwise is a flat out lie.

I considered going yesterday, but sometimes going to church on Sunday mornings feels like, I don’t know, it ends up eating up the whole morning. Yes, I’m aware how bad that sounds. 😬

My church also has a 6:30 pm Monday night service, so I decided I’d go then, instead. It’s a regular service, but tends to be less attended and more informal. As a result, it’s a bit quicker, too.

I worked until 5, quickly did my 33 minute cardio workout, finished making the chicken tinga that I started prepping on my lunch, and then changed to leave. Ivan got home at like, 6:10, just as I was about to go. I said, “Hey, wanna go to church?” And he was like…. not really…. ha. (He then said, if you want to go to church on Monday nights sometimes, tell me in advance and I’ll go with you. But don’t wait and tell me until 5 minutes before!)

Fair.

I have no problem going alone, anyway, so I headed off. (The boys were not home, either.)

Turns out, there was another woman by herself sitting right behind me. We greeted each other in the beginning during the “sharing of the peace” thing. She was a bit older than I am, but not by too much.

After the service, as we were walking out, she caught up with me and asked if I was from here. Turns out, she lives in town but had only attended this church a couple times before (and this was her first ever time to a Monday night service). They used to go to a different church on the far opposite side of town but she’s looking for a local church.

Anyway, I then sheepishly had to admit that, yes, technically this is “my church” but I really have not been a regular attendee lately…. She actually shared a similar story of falling away some and said she is wanting to get back into going more, too, and that she really likes the vibe of this church so far.

She was super friendly and we ended up chatting for over 15 minutes and then walked out to our cars together still chatting.

She kept saying, “I really hope to see you around again! Maybe we can meet up on Monday nights!” I said, “Deal! Meet you here in 2 weeks!” :)(She mentioned next week they’ll be out of town for a graduation.) I got the sense that she was really thrilled to have met me, too, especially being new there.

I drove away feeling like, Huh! Something about that whole thing felt a little bit like divine intervention! 😉

(Maybe a new friend is the “hook” I need to really get back into a regular church habit??)

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for my salsa verde. Haha. A couple ways I ate it today:

And finally, not shown, on my tostadas for dinner. 😉