Get to Know a Garden City Member: The Barrineaus
Hey, y’all! We’re Geddings and Lakin Barrineau, and in case the “y’all” didn’t clue you in, we’re not from around here. We both grew up in a small town in South Carolina, but we spent the first 4 years of our marriage in Clemson, SC (go Tigers!). We spent a lot of our time there eating barbecue at the Smokin' Pig, tubing on Lake Hartwell, and cheering on our Tigers!
We moved to the Bay Area about a year and a half ago and jumped right into the Cathey’s life group, and what a blessing it’s been! Our small group family has been quick to love us, care for us, and welcome us into their own families since ours is so far away. Heck, a couple of them even asked us to move in with them! Now, tell us that’s not a blessing (especially in the middle of a pandemic)!
Recently, our life group got together to celebrate a couple in our group who not only bought a home but also welcomed a new baby! We reflected on God’s faithfulness together, we prayed together, we ate cupcakes together, and we played charades together (all socially distant and outside, of course). And let us just say that our small group has some pretty talented actors
(we're looking at you, Tom and Betsy)! This pandemic has brought out a lot of anxiety for both of us, but the Lord has been so faithful in providing us with a community who has stepped up to pray for us, encourage us, and love us well.
Though a lot has changed because of the pandemic, we’ve tried really hard to hold onto a little bit of normalcy. Every Saturday we watch college football. Every month we go to Salt and Straw - Lakin's favorite place in the Bay Area - to enjoy a waffle cone of Chocolate Gooey Brownie with friends. Every once in a while we play a good game of croquet in the park across the street from our house. And sometimes, when we’re tired of all the noise of San Jose, we drive up to Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve - Geddings’ favorite place - just get sit in the quiet. (If you're looking for this kind of normalcy in your life, hit us up.)
If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that we really can’t do life alone. We weren’t designed that way. And thankfully, Garden City has made it so that we haven’t had to. Though we really miss meeting together weekly in a building where we can hug our friends and sing our guts out, we’ve really come to appreciate every moment we get to spend with our GC family, even if it is six feet apart in a park. Because it’s in those moments when we’re together with the body of Christ that we are reminded of the work that He’s still doing - even in the middle of all this mess.