My children watched The Polar Express a few days ago, and it made me realize that we are about to reach another anniversary of sorts.
Dh and the kids and I were watching the Polar Express last year when my Dad called to tell us that he had decided to retire, and that our church would soon be closing it's doors.
Cornerstone Baptist Church held it's last service on a Wednesday night, December 21, 2005.
In some ways, it seems like it was just a few weeks ago, and in other ways, it seems like another lifetime.
Cornerstone's closing was hard for all of us. While it was the ending of a wonderful thing in our lives, I can see now, a year later, that it was also the beginning of something else. I know that for me and my husband, it was the beginning of a spiritual journey.
For us, being without a 'home church' was like wandering in the wilderness. Not having a 'church family' to lean on, we had no choice but to lean on Him and Him alone. This served to draw both me and Roger much closer to the Lord in our personal walks with Him. Each of us treasures our private times in prayer and Bible reading much more now, because we have truly learned that we CANNOT survive spiritually if we have spiritual 'food' only on Sundays and Wednesdays. We must feed off God's Word, and be in close touch with Him EVERY day.
The first Sunday after Cornerstone's doors were closed was Christmas day, so we didn't go to churh at all. It didn't feel right to visit a brand new church on Christmas day, especially when we were still 'reeling' from the loss our church. So, we stayed home and read the Christmas Story from Luke 2 and had prayer in our living room. The following Sunday, New Year's Day, we visited Anchor of Hope Baptist Church. It sounds funny to say this now, but we really didn't like it at all! LOL! Honestly though, that was our first time visiting another church, and I don't think we would have really liked ANY church that morning.
After that, we visited many other churches. Some were teaching things that were not Scriptural. Some seem to base their teaching/preaching more on the latest Christian book than on the Word of God. Some were just plain 'dead'. Some resembled self help seminars much more than they resembled a worship service.
We became discouraged, and I know that my parents, my sister and her son, my aunt, and some friends from Cornerstone who were visiting with us were feeling discouraged as well.
We wanted to be open to whatever God led us to do, but at the same time, our prayer was that He would lead me and dh and our family, my parents, my sister, and my aunt to worship at the same church so that we could continue to worship as a family.
Finally, we visited one church that we liked very much. They seemed to be Scripturally sound, they had a variety of types of music so that there was something we all liked, they had a Beth Moore Bible study for me to attend, and the kids visited and enjoyed their AWANA program. Dh and I also had some friends there. We really liked this church, and we WANTED it to be where the Lord led us to worship. We visited there several times~a couple of Sunday morning services, one or two Sunday night services, and even a Wednesday evening. My Dad thought that dh and I had pretty much decided to join this church, and he said that he had despaired of ever finding a church that fulfilled his 'wish list' so he was willing to maybe 'settle' at this particular church.
But, no matter how good everything looked on the surface, this church just didn't feel right to me and dh. We thought it was just us at first~that we were too picky or something, because there was nothing obvious wrong with this church, but still, we just didn't feel peace about joining there.
Then, one Sunday afternoon in early March, Daddy called to say that he wanted to give Anchor of Hope another try, and that he was going to attend their evening service if we'd like to go with him. We didn't go, but I did call him later to ask him how it went. He said that at first, he was disappointed because the pastor didn't preach that night, the assistant pastor did. But, Daddy also said that somehow, the Holy Spirit made him feel welcome there that night. He asked if we would come with him and my Mom to visit there again the following Sunday morning. Inwardly, I thought 'ugh', but we decided to go.
I will never in a million years be able to explain this, but when we walked into that church on that Sunday morning, I knew that this church was going to be home. There was nothing specific that made me feel that way, but I felt it just the same.
We truly feel like we're 'home' now. Our pastor is a straightforward preacher and teacher who stands on the Word of God solidly, and refuses to water it down. He truly cares about his church members, and has become a good friend to us.
We were welcomed into this family of believers, and given opportunities to serve. My Dad and our pastor had a nice long visit before we joined the church, and the pastor visited us in our home as well. I do believe that our pastor and my Dad are 'kindred spirits'! LOL They have similar personalities, and even mispronounce some of the same words, in the same way! LOL! I'm not making fun of either of them, I'm just VERY glad that the two of them have formed a friendship. My Dad has gone from feeling like a shepherd without a flock, and a man without a ministry, to having a sure place to serve. He is currently teaching a Sunday School class, and he preaches or leads a Bible study for our pastor when the pastor goes out of town or just needs a break.
My Mom is able to worship now, and choose areas in which to serve without the pressures of being the pastor's wife, or feeling like she has to do everything.
My sister and my aunt are enjoying the worship and fellowship, and opportnities for service. My aunt serves as secretary for my Dad's Sunday School class, and my sister has taught in VBS, and is right now working on a 'Breakfast With Santa' for underprivelged children in conjunction with our church and it's youth ministry. My nephew was very reluctant to participate in church activities at first, and he still is not as active as we'd like him to be, but he has participated some with the drama team, and he does more now with the Youth group than he used to. He really likes our new Youth Pastor, so that helps a lot.
One of the things I prayed for as we searched for a new church was that my husband would have the opportunity to build friendships with good Christian men. Cornerstone was so small that all the men there were relatives of ours, except for one, and all of Roger's friends from work are either unsaved, or just not living for the Lord.
God answered my prayer for Roger. He played softball in the spring and fall with our church team, and he has formed bonds with many of the other guys on the team. He has also been working with the Youth group, which has allowed him to build a relationship with our pastor, youth pastor, youth workers, and the parents of some of the teens. We've also been attending a Couples Sunday school class, which has been good for both of us.
As for me, I enjoyed a period of 'rest' at first, really doing nothing except going to church to worship and be spiritually fed. Then, I decided to join the choir, and I was SO touched by the welcome I received from the other choir members and the director! My Mom and husband have since joined the choir with me, and it's something we all enjoy. Mom, dh, my sister, my aunt, and I all participated in this past summer's VBS, and it was SUCH a blessing! Our little Alex (6yo) was saved during that VBS, so it's something that is very close to my heart.
My kids have absolutely blossomed at this church. They are each in seperate Sunday School classes, which they love. They love, love, love AWANA, and our youngest thoroughly enjoys children's church. All 3 of them, along with my nephew Jake, will be participating in this year's Christmas play, and they are very excited about it.
We've a good place to worship and to learn, we all have places to serve in the church without feeling burdened, and our kids are flourishing. In short, we're home!
It's been a long, sometimes exhausting journey, but I can honestly say I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Blessings
Mom23munchkins