Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Thomas.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up as a church girl, I was heavily involved in various ministries and I often suffered from being burnt out. I had to learn that I wasn’t called to everything. I had to finally accept that it was time to strip off all the labels people placed on me. You see, just because something is good doesn’t mean it’s good for you. God began renewing my mind on what serving really meant and what doing church vs being the church meant. Once I realized that all along God was searching for my heart and not my works, I knew I had to take a step back from the religious way of doing things. On the journey, I started to see others how God saw them and I began to understand that I had nothing to do with changing people’s hearts but that it was all the holy spirit’s job. Today, I would say that I am simply redeemed, stains and all. I was never perfect to begin with and God loved me anyway. Nothing I could do would make him love me more or less and now I get to share His message of love with others. I am where I am today because of God’s grace, praying parents, and supportive friends and family.
While listening to a sermon at a conference, the one phrase that stood out to me was, “Step outside of the boat!” These words felt like a command for me to finally get out of my own way and step out in faith towards what God had for me. Not being the type to invite many people into my space, God called me to invite all the women in my life over for a simple potluck. Four lovely women came to the potluck and they encouraged me to host again, so I did!
In 2016, I set up another gathering and no one replied but to my delight, hours later sixteen women crowded my cozy apartment. With amazement, I knew God was doing a work in these women while also breaking barriers and walls in my own heart by allowing others into my space. After the Vision Board Party, one woman asked, “What are we doing next?” Right then, that showed me that these women really do desire this space and it clicked internally for me that this is what God wants me to do: to gather, encourage and connect women with one another in an authentically intimate space.
From then on every month, I consistently reached out to women to gather. We went from meeting at this house to that house to meeting at different eclectic venues with spaces for indoor and outdoor seating. The journey of Redeeming Life has been a blessing with each theme providing a life-changing experience for anyone accepting an invitation to join our community. Every woman needs to know and be reminded that they are seen, heard and are His Redeemed. My heart is to simply provide that space to see women come be encouraged, be refreshed and be His.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Bringing people together seemed so easy in the beginning but one of the struggles we found ourselves in was finding spaces that would comfortably accommodate the influx of women coming in. Women shared by word of mouth, inviting their friends and family so we very quickly outgrew my tiny apartment. Intimacy and intentionality was a plus for what I wanted for our community of women, so I started praying for a space. In 2017, I was blessed by the grace of God with a venue big enough to accommodate my guests. So then the new challenge became “how do I create and keep this space sacred and safe as these gatherings grow more public?” To resolve this challenge, I decided to share my own story in my journey with anxiety and how it all affected my spiritual walk. God pulled me out of a fearful place to confidently tell my story. Being vulnerable and honest about where I was in life truly connected the women to the Lord and connected them to me as a sister. Many could relate as we all are gracefully, yet beautifully broken and made whole in Jesus. It was then I experienced that, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt
In the beginning, I was truly a one woman show which became a struggle and I had to take some time off from curating gatherings. Through some awesome sister friends who always showed up without asking to help, I got the help I needed. Shout out to Stephane, Bethsy, Brittney, and Kerriann!!!! These redeemed servants and so many others taught me that it’s ok to ask for help and accept help. We are truly in this together!
When Redeeming Life moved to Miami, relocating was hard. I had to build new relationships, find new spaces again and on top of that, I struggled with this constant anxiety that tried to consume me. I started from scratch trying to plan my first gathering in my hometown of Miami. My nerves would not let me be great as I would literally feel sick before all events. But by God’s grace, old friendships led me to new amazing connections and community here in the heart of Miami. I now have a new group of redeemed servants that graciously accepted to join with me in making this community great again. The Miami Gatherings have been able to touch a new wave of women for which I am eternally grateful for, and luckily because my connection with Tampa is so strong, I travel there to host gatherings at least twice a year.
Redeeming Life Gatherings – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Redeeming Life Gatherings exists to create safe spaces for women to experience authentic community, sisterhood, and creativity. The scripture that embodies this organization comes from Isaiah 43:1 where it says: “Do not fear, I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.”
Within our monthly gatherings, you get the opportunity to build on your relationship with God while sharing life, lite bites, and networking. We’ve curated a few fun events such as Color & Tea, the Vision Board Party, and Crowns & Conversations. My motto is, “If you invite them, they will come.” So the next time you’re in our city, you’re invited! Come, be encouraged, be refreshed, and be His!
I am a founder, coordinator and a creative for ideas and concepts. I specialize in curating and facilitating unique events that are intended to uplift, empower and motivate women from intimate to large gatherings. I am known for consistently hosting purposeful events and having a passion for bringing people together, uniting them in faith and in love. I am also known for being good with aesthetics and decor which sets the tone paired with prayer that have women leaving refreshed from a therapeutic escape. I simply create, serve, lead and inspire.
How Redeeming Life has grown in such a short period of time has made me beam with pride. The gatherings have been impactful on women from all over. We went from local to national in under 1 1/2 years with our first collaboration with “Hey, Thrive Girl.” I am also proud of utilizing zoom as a platform to reach more women outside of Florida during these trying times. Redeeming Life hosted sessions once a week for a month ½ in place of not being able to gather in person as we usually would meet once a month. These sessions brought hope, peace and strength. We even made space for the men, because I believe they needed a place to belong and needed a little uplifting as well. I’m so grateful that our virtual gatherings were welcoming for the men while providing topics that were well-rounded, eye-opening, and freeing.
What sets Redeeming Life apart is that we solely focus on providing women from all walks of life the opportunity to gather and learn from each other. No matter what hat or status you carry, this intimate space is created with you in mind to relax, relate and release whatever is on your heart.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would say the proudest moment in my career was being one of the persons to help co-pilot a rewarding program that would help excel children and teens in their social and academic lives. To have been able to network and build relationships with such an enriching community has brought much significance to why I always loved outreach work. I am also proud of being one to have worked with the underserved population through legal services and translating for Haitian clients. Knowing that I was part of helping my own community was a success for me… When you are intentional about your why then you will experience the fruit from the seeds that were sown.
Contact Info:
- Website: redeeminglifegatherings.com
- Email: redeemedservant7@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_redeeminglife/
Image Credit:
Photo credit: 413 Studio Productions, Inc., 413spi.com (Crowns & Convos Event); Michelle Wilford, IG: @_michelleamanda_ (Vision Board Event); IG: @elmaxproductions (Tampa Event); Skirt by Levell Up Fashion
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