What a precious day yesterday was...
what an amazing way to start off the first day of the week!!!
First of all....a lady who we used to go to church with visited our church yesterday morning. I love this dear lady so very much....she told me that not a Sunday goes by that she doesn't think about me and Pap...can you believe that??? I love her and her sister so much. She goes to church with Jess and The Dad and the boys now...and she obviously misses us!!! You see...here's why she feels that way. Several years ago....five and a half to be exact.....Pap and I felt God calling us to leave the church that we belonged to and to find another one...well, actually to let Him lead us to another one. I had grown up in our former church, had attended there since I was a little girl....that was where I was saved...at the age of eleven....one cold January Sunday morning....and was baptized the following summer in Roseberry Creek. When Pap decided that he wanted to date me...he started coming to that church, too.
He joined the church and was baptized in the French Broad River while I was pregnant with Jess!!!
Then...last night at church, The Dumplin Valley Trio sang. I hope that those of you who go to church with me, and who read my blog, enjoyed it as much as I did. Couldn't you just feel the Holy Spirit? But...it wasn't just the music....it was the memories that came to mind. You see, I've been acquainted with members of that family for my entire life. I sat there listening to them sing, and remember the Dad from when I was a little girl. I can still picture him as he leaned forward and sang in the deepest bass voice that I have ever heard. I can even see in my mind where I was sitting in the church that I grew up in and how I just could not believe that anybody's voice could be that deep!!! They sang a song last night that was one of my Dad's favorites. How many times do you hear a song being sang and it reminds you of somebody, or it takes you back and brings back sweet memories? I saw the Dad's wife there and remember how kind she has always been to me. She and her daughter insisted on helping us with Jess' wedding reception and it was amazing what all they did for us....her daughter is actually married to the oldest member of the trio.
So...what does all of this have to do with anything????....are you thinking....I bet she's going back to her old church....nope....not at all.
We're home...we know we're exactly where God wants us to be.
So....what then??? Why all the nostalgia???
It just reminds me of that little e-mail that goes around about how friends come and go in our lives and the impressions that they make. Those people will always be a part of my life...but so will the new friends that I've made.
Here is one reason why I know I am right where God planted me...right where He wants us to be. Last night...a dear, dear lady....who has belonged to our current church for years and years and years...I spotted her sitting alone because her family hadn't came in to sit with her yet. I immediately had to go over and sit beside her and give her a big hug. You see....she had a very difficult week. She spent hours and hours in the emergency room one day last week....she's having heart problems that hopefully can be treated with medication....to make matters worse, while in the hospital, she was exposed to somebody sick, and caught a stomach virus. So, needless to say, this was a very different Thanksgiving for her and her family. But...here's what I'm getting at. When I hugged her, I immediately started crying....it was very unexpected....but I told her that it was just so hard to believe how much you can grow to love somebody in such a short amount of time, and that I was so scared when I heard she had gone to the hospital and I was so worried!! She cried, too!!!
So....no matter if the friends are "old" ones....or "new" ones. No matter how long it's been since you've seen some of them...isn't it wonderful the bond you still share with them? Isn't that part of what being a Christian is all about? Isn't one of the most wonderful things in the world is to be a part of the family of God???
Also...isn't it amazing how God will bless you when you step out on faith and obey Him. I've done some things in the past 5 years that seem almost out of character for me, as I've told you before...leaving our church...quitting my job...but they were at God's prompting...and when you obey Him...and step out on faith and believe that He will take care of you....well....He will!!!
Genesis 12:1 (NLT)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you."
In His Love...and with mine!!!
what an amazing way to start off the first day of the week!!!
First of all....a lady who we used to go to church with visited our church yesterday morning. I love this dear lady so very much....she told me that not a Sunday goes by that she doesn't think about me and Pap...can you believe that??? I love her and her sister so much. She goes to church with Jess and The Dad and the boys now...and she obviously misses us!!! You see...here's why she feels that way. Several years ago....five and a half to be exact.....Pap and I felt God calling us to leave the church that we belonged to and to find another one...well, actually to let Him lead us to another one. I had grown up in our former church, had attended there since I was a little girl....that was where I was saved...at the age of eleven....one cold January Sunday morning....and was baptized the following summer in Roseberry Creek. When Pap decided that he wanted to date me...he started coming to that church, too.
He joined the church and was baptized in the French Broad River while I was pregnant with Jess!!!
Then...last night at church, The Dumplin Valley Trio sang. I hope that those of you who go to church with me, and who read my blog, enjoyed it as much as I did. Couldn't you just feel the Holy Spirit? But...it wasn't just the music....it was the memories that came to mind. You see, I've been acquainted with members of that family for my entire life. I sat there listening to them sing, and remember the Dad from when I was a little girl. I can still picture him as he leaned forward and sang in the deepest bass voice that I have ever heard. I can even see in my mind where I was sitting in the church that I grew up in and how I just could not believe that anybody's voice could be that deep!!! They sang a song last night that was one of my Dad's favorites. How many times do you hear a song being sang and it reminds you of somebody, or it takes you back and brings back sweet memories? I saw the Dad's wife there and remember how kind she has always been to me. She and her daughter insisted on helping us with Jess' wedding reception and it was amazing what all they did for us....her daughter is actually married to the oldest member of the trio.
So...what does all of this have to do with anything????....are you thinking....I bet she's going back to her old church....nope....not at all.
We're home...we know we're exactly where God wants us to be.
So....what then??? Why all the nostalgia???
It just reminds me of that little e-mail that goes around about how friends come and go in our lives and the impressions that they make. Those people will always be a part of my life...but so will the new friends that I've made.
Here is one reason why I know I am right where God planted me...right where He wants us to be. Last night...a dear, dear lady....who has belonged to our current church for years and years and years...I spotted her sitting alone because her family hadn't came in to sit with her yet. I immediately had to go over and sit beside her and give her a big hug. You see....she had a very difficult week. She spent hours and hours in the emergency room one day last week....she's having heart problems that hopefully can be treated with medication....to make matters worse, while in the hospital, she was exposed to somebody sick, and caught a stomach virus. So, needless to say, this was a very different Thanksgiving for her and her family. But...here's what I'm getting at. When I hugged her, I immediately started crying....it was very unexpected....but I told her that it was just so hard to believe how much you can grow to love somebody in such a short amount of time, and that I was so scared when I heard she had gone to the hospital and I was so worried!! She cried, too!!!
So....no matter if the friends are "old" ones....or "new" ones. No matter how long it's been since you've seen some of them...isn't it wonderful the bond you still share with them? Isn't that part of what being a Christian is all about? Isn't one of the most wonderful things in the world is to be a part of the family of God???
Also...isn't it amazing how God will bless you when you step out on faith and obey Him. I've done some things in the past 5 years that seem almost out of character for me, as I've told you before...leaving our church...quitting my job...but they were at God's prompting...and when you obey Him...and step out on faith and believe that He will take care of you....well....He will!!!
Genesis 12:1 (NLT)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you."
In His Love...and with mine!!!
Thanks!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mis