SPACE - Growing with God (Part 2)
Come as you are - and encounter.
Before Growing with God had a name, before it had a rhythm, a shape, or even a real sense of direction – it had space.
It began with a kind of dull ache. Not for more information, or more events, or more things to do. But for something slower. Something honest. Something that didn’t need to impress or perform. A place to simply land, to breathe, to ask questions we weren’t sure we were allowed to ask.
I have seen time and again, the power of spaces where people can connect with themselves, with each other and with God and yet – in the busyness of life we do it once, tell ourselves it was awesome and life-changing and then we return to the ‘normal’ way of doing things. The rush is still there. The doing is still there. But the being? The being with God, with others, with ourselves – that quietly disappears.
We start with SPACE because that’s how this journey began.
When I was an online tutor, I used a three-part model to help young people prepare for exams. It wasn’t flashy. I thought it was simple: Learn, Explore, Practice.
Learn was about absorbing knowledge – getting it down, hearing it explained.
Explore was where we played with it – made it real, made it make sense, contextualised it, and dare I say – had fun.
Practice was the repeatable action – the habits to help apply the knowledge, get the marks and ultimately the grades wanted by the student.
It worked. Not because it was clever, but because it mirrored real life. We don’t just know something the moment we’re told it. We have to live with it. Let it land. Let it make its home in us.
And looking back, I realise that’s what SPACE does too.
SPACE is our Learn. Not in the information-dump sense, but in the soul-sense. The absorbing. The noticing. The moment when we pause long enough to realise: Oh. That’s what’s going on in me. That’s where I’m hurting. That’s what’s stirring. That’s where God’s been speaking this whole time and I just didn’t see it.
But you can’t rush that. You can’t drive-thru revelation. It takes space.
We live in a culture that doesn’t offer it easily. We’re praised for filling every second, responding instantly, keeping up. But what if the thing we’re most in need of isn’t more food – but digestion? What if we’re spiritually bloated, emotionally starved, and relationally stretched because we’ve forgotten how to stop?
That’s why Growing with God starts with SPACE.
Not because we didn’t know what else to do – but because we sensed this is what we all needed most.
So what is SPACE?
It’s a pause. A breath. A gentle rearranging of life. An assessment of the soul.
But through it all, it’s about connection.
Connection to yourself.
The kind we often avoid. The kind that surfaces in silence, when the noise fades and our inner life finally has a chance to speak. In Growing with God, we don’t rush past that. We begin there. We ask not, “What are you doing for God?” but “What’s going on in you right now?” No pressure to fix or tidy it. Just the brave act of noticing. How are you – really?Connection to others.
Honest, human connection. The kind where someone can say, “I’m actually not doing so good,” and instead of a polite nod, they’re met with, “That’s okay. How can we walk together in this?” We’ve grown too used to perfectly curated photos, 280-character updates, and quick check-ins. Growing with God slows the pace down. Makes space for community that listens without fixing. That holds without hurrying.Connection to God.
Not the God we squeeze into a Sunday or slot between meetings – but the God who longs to meet us in the depths. For many of us, it’s not that we think we’ve got this all sorted. It’s that we’re so caught in the doing, serving, showing up, staying afloat, that the deeper connection gets edged out. We settle for surface when our souls are aching for something more. And even when we don’t fully realise it, something in us is craving intimacy. Craving encounter. Craving the kind of presence that doesn’t demand performance but invites us to simply be. God rarely shouts. He whispers in stillness. Nudges in silence. Encounters those who wait on Him.
SPACE is where we make room for that encounter – where we stop striving long enough to remember we’re not alone. And never were.
There’s a song by Damien Rice called Trusty and True.
When I first heard, I didn’t think much of it. It played in the background a few times, went over my head a bit, I let it wash over me without really listening. But then, at a learning community I was a part of, it was used as part of a reflection time – and it spoke to me. Over time, it has grown into something of an anthem of mine. It has been one of those songs that lingers. I can go a few months without hearing it and then it pops up – on a playlist I press shuffle on, on a TV show I’m watching, on the radio in the car. And I am transported back. Or maybe forward. Either way – it moves me.
Now, I can hardly hear the opening notes without something rising in me – something tender, something honest, something almost holy? Because what this song offers, I think, is exactly what SPACE is about at its core – an invitation to come. To come without the need to explain. To come without the need to have everything sorted. To come, even if you don’t really know why you’re coming at all. Only that something in you is aching for something more.
The lyrics of the song say it like this; “come, come alone, come with fear, come with love, come however you are”.
This is the heart of SPACE.
It’s not about impressing God. It’s not about bringing your spiritual highlights reel. It’s not about knowing what comes next, or being confident or sure. It’s just about showing up. With whatever you are carrying. With whoever you are in this moment. Not who you used to be, or who you think you should be by now.
SPACE is where we let go of the masks we wear and the pressure we carry. It’s where we stop trying to manage the moment and instead allow ourselves to encounter it. To sit in the stillness and realise that even here – especially here, we are not alone. We are not too late. We are not too much.
I think the reason Trusty and True resonates so deeply is because it names something we all feel but rarely admit: the weight of trying to be enough.
“we’ve wanted to be, trusty and true, but feathers fell from our wings, and we’ve wanted to be, worthy of you, but weather rained in our dreams”
We try. We want to be faithful. We want to be ‘good’. We want to live up to the hopes others have placed on us, and the ones we’ve placed on ourselves. But life wears us down. Disappointment comes. Dreams go away. And we look back at the path behind us and think, ‘I wish I’d done that differently’ or ‘I thought I’d be further along by now.’
and yet…
“if all that you are is not all you desire – then come. We can’t take back what is done, what is past, so let us start from here.”
And honestly? That’s the kind of Christian community I think we all long to be part of.
One where “come as you are” is not merely a slogan – but it’s a way of being in relationship with one another and with God. Where we don’t hide our questions, or pain, or joy, but show up in this moment and say – “let’s walk this together.” Because that’s where healing begins. That’s where encounter begins. That’s where growth begins. Not in pretending – but in presence.
That’s what SPACE offers. A chance to start from here. Not from some idealised version of you. Not from some imagined place where everything makes sense. Just here. Where you are. With what you’ve got. And with the God who meets us in the middle of our mess, not just at the end of our journey.
It’s why we pause. Why we make room for silence. Why we resist the urge to fill the space with answers or activities. Because in the stillness, that whisper comes again; “come however you are”.
So whether you are shaky or steady, questioning or hopeful, supported or alone, whether you have been walking closely with God or wondering where He is – you are invited.
Not just to participate. Not just to observe. But to encounter.
That’s SPACE.
And you’re welcome in it.
Next week, we’ll move into EXPLORE – where curiosity and imagination meet God’s call to dream with Him. And after that, we’ll look at PRACTICE – where we explore the next right thing. But we can’t skip this part. You can’t grow without SPACE. A crowded garden chokes the life out of plants. And you can’t meet God at a pace that leaves no room to hear Him.
This isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.
Josh | A Curious Follower
If this resonated with you, I’d love to invite you to join us for one of the upcoming Growing with God Taster Sessions - dates released Thursday 17th July.
It’s £15 to attend, and spaces are limited. But if what you’re longing for isn’t more input but deeper connection – then come. Come however you are.
To find out more, click here - acuriousfollower.com/GWG
If you know someone else who might need this space, would you consider sharing this with them? It might be exactly what they didn’t know they needed.
If you’d like to stay in the loop and haven’t already - subscribe.
And I’d love to hear from you - feel free to leave a comment or reply.