Author - Valerie McArthur

You could spot my friends and I from the other side of the cafeteria. We’d crammed about seven chairs too many around a round table and were laughing uproariously. I clambered over my chair into my spot and moved someone’s wallet to make space for my plate. Sometimes, we were super quiet at lunch, sitting together and just enjoying being still. This time, however, we were being obnoxiously loud. I took a drink of water and noticed there was a little too much attention tossed my way from around the table. I was quick to dismiss it, taking another mouthful[…]

My Growth Group leader’s apartment was so welcoming to step into. The smell of freshly baked muffins saturated the air with the rich, appetizing aroma of chocolate. Delicate and ornate stacks of teacups lined a shelf above a basket full of teas, and soft fuzzy blankets were draped over the couches. Tabs, our leader, always greeted us with a hug and a warm, “How are you?” My Growth Group, a student-led on-campus Bible Study, has (somehow) met every year and every semester since my first month at John Brown University. Tabs is single-handedly responsible for the Bible study’s success, continuing[…]