1996 Thomas Nelson Highway Arrington, VA

What a blessing it was to join White Rock Baptist Church in Arrington, Virginia, for their Facebook livestream service today as part of my journey to visit every church in my city.

Though this season of my life has been one of the hardest… filled with sickness, family members in the hospital, transportation struggles, financial burdens, and moments of deep weariness, I’m still standing by the grace of God.

Even when life has felt like it’s closing in from every side, God continues to make a way. This journey, even in its pain, has been proof that His purpose never pauses.

The service opened with the choir singing “The Goodness of God,” and I could hardly contain my tears. My heart overflowed as I sang along, “All my life You have been faithful, all my life You have been so, so good.” Those words are more than a song to me, they are my testimony. Because even in the dark, God has been good. He has held me when everything else fell apart.

The youth choir on the stage, their voices full of joy and conviction, praising God with such passion that it reached through the screen and lifted my spirit right where I was. This was worship that moved heaven and stirred my soul.

And then came a moment I will never forget, when the Pastor himself stepped up to sing. He sang “Hold On, Change Is Coming” with a fire that filled the entire church and poured straight into my living room. My heart trembled as those words washed over me. Hold on. Change is coming. I needed that reminder. My soul needed that truth.

Because sometimes, we can see the storm, but not the sunrise. We can feel the ache but not yet the healing. But change is coming. God is faithful, and He never forgets His children.

The Pastor delivered a powerful message from the Gospel of John, where Jesus meets the man at the pool of Bethesda. He reminded us how the man had been waiting for years, hoping, watching, longing for a miracle. The pool was crowded, people were pushing past, and yet this man stayed… waiting.

The Pastor said, “God is about to get in your situation.”

And I felt that deep in my bones. Because truthfully, I feel like that man at the pool sometimes. Waiting for the water to move. Waiting for my healing. Waiting for breakthrough. I’ve spent nights praying, asking God, “When, Lord? When will it be my turn?” But this message reminded me that even when we are waiting, God is still working.

He spoke about how the man didn’t get healed because he made it into the water, he was healed because Jesus came to him. And isn’t that the heart of the Gospel? Jesus meets us right where we are. We don’t have to crawl our way into holiness, He comes to us in our pain, our brokenness, and our waiting.

The Pastor’s message was full of power and grace, reminding us that sometimes we just need someone to help carry us to the pool, someone who loves us enough to bring us closer to hope.

That made me think about all the people who have helped carry me. Friends who prayed when I couldn’t find the words. Family who showed up when I was too weak to stand. My faith community, lifting me up week after week, holding my arms high when I couldn’t hold them myself.

We must do that for one another. We must show up. We must love our neighbors. Because sometimes, the miracle isn’t in the healing, it’s in the helping.

The Pastor said something so profound, “Tradition does not trump God.” How many times do we let our expectations, our routines, or our fears make us miss the blessing God is trying to give us? Sometimes His miracles come in unexpected packaging. Sometimes the answer doesn’t look like what we prayed for but it’s still the answer.

As I listened, I felt God stirring something inside me, a renewed faith that even in this hard season, He’s still writing my story. Like that man by the pool, I may not see the ripple yet, but I know the Healer is near.

This message reminded me that faith is not about comfort, it’s about consistency. We don’t stop believing just because it’s hard. We hold on because change is coming.

I found myself asking, Am I waiting with expectation, or have I let discouragement become my companion? Am I so focused on how I think my blessing should look that I might miss the one God is already sending?

And when others are waiting beside the pool, am I helping to carry them closer to Jesus?

I thank God for White Rock Baptist Church, for the worship, the Word, and the reminder that faith doesn’t just wait, it endures. I’m so grateful for this church’s fire, love, and genuine worship.

To the Pastor, thank you for being a vessel of truth and encouragement. Your message gave me the strength to keep holding on, to believe that change is still coming, and that Jesus is already walking toward me.

I can’t wait to visit in person one day soon and worship with this amazing church family.

Until then, I’ll keep holding on to God’s unchanging hand, trusting that He’s working behind the scenes, healing, restoring, and making all things new.

Because the same Jesus who met the man at the pool is meeting me here, right now.
And I know… my blessing is on the way.