Not to be singled out
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on February 15, 2018 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/JOEY PITCHFORD
Rachelle Williams speaks at the Valuable Treasures Single's Fellowship Tuesday. An Army veteran and rape survivor who has experienced the loss of a child and divorce, Williams said she felt led to share the love of God with other singles on Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is often considered a day to spend with "that special someone," so it is no surprise that some singles may feel left out.
Every year since 2014, Rachelle Williams has tried to fix that. On Wednesday, she held her fifth annual Valuable Treasures Single's Fellowship at the Word of Truth Christian Fellowship at 1401 N. Carolina St., where around 25 single people discussed the challenges of being single and shared thoughts on how to be happy outside of a relationship.
Williams' path to creating Valuable Treasures was not an easy one. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Williams is a rape survivor and had to deal with the loss of her eldest daughter to cancer in 2002. In 2013, she went through a divorce, another difficult time in life seemingly full of them. She turned to God for guidance.
"I was just crying, and I cried out for the Lord. I wasn't really asking 'why,' it was more just, help me through this," she said. "It sounds weird, but the Lord usually ministers to me in the shower, and when I stepped out of the shower one day, I felt the presence of the Lord and he told me 'you are a valuable treasure to me.'"
At the time, Williams said she took the message as a personal one, meant just for her. However, she said she felt compelled by God to share that love with other singles in 2014, and Valuable Treasures was born.
That first year, the fellowship took place at Outback Steakhouse, and around eight people showed up. The numbers didn't matter to Williams, who said the attendees had a great time with one another.
"As long as there is one person who needs the fellowship, I have to do this," she said.
The event had grown every year since. On Wednesday, around two dozen people -- mostly women -- sat around a long table. Some knew each other; others were just meeting for the first time, but the room held a lively energy as people caught up or introduced themselves.
Over the course of the night, the guests went over an array of issues single people face, from online dating to sex before marriage and how to find meaning outside of a relationship. The theme of the night was "Never Alone," and Williams encouraged everyone in attendance to look both to God, their families and their community for help when they felt abandoned.
"The enemy will try to tell you that you are alone," she said. "But you are never alone. Look to your brothers and sisters, think 'who can I call to help me through this.'"
Tricia Kelly, a member of the Christian Fellowship, had never been to Valuable Treasures before. She said she heard about it in Sunday service, and decided to give it a shot, especially because Valentine's Day is also her birthday.
"It's been fun so far," she said with a smile. "It feels like they're actually singling me out for once, everybody's paying attention."