Emmy has chosen the topic for this months photo shoot...churches. I think back to all the churches we have been members of. And then I think of the all the wonderful people who are the churches I have 'grown-up' in. There is the church not far from home that I attended when I was little and later on was married in. The church that I attended with Mark where I became serious about all this God stuff. The church not far from my first church where I was baptized. And where the church family let me spread my wings and try things with their children. Then we moved away from our roots and moved to Ohio where we searched and searched for a church home. We finally decided to bloom where we were planted. This was our home-away-from-home-church. I was also privileged to be able to work with the children and youth of this church. And again...it is the people that make the church not the four walls and the steeple. Once again God uprooted us and we had to find a new church home far, far, away for all those we hold near and dear. Our new church was not like anything we had ever experienced before. The hugeness of it was so unfamiliar. But the love shown was the same. Friendships that are everlasting no matter where we go to sleep at night. And one last move to our church now that is on the other side of the city. All that to say that I wanted to show you all of these buildings of churches but unfortunately, that is not going to be possible. But I want you to feel and understand that it is defiantly not the church building that makes the church. It is the people within...that love you no matter what, that will drop whatever they are doing if they know you need anything, those that share even when they don't have much left for themselves, those who will cook for you when they know you need it most, those who will give the shirts off their backs, that will drive hours to surprise you, love your children as much as you do, make you feel like family, call you just to check in, will send pictures of their kids and grand kids because they know you care, contribute to a whim, call to invite you to important gathering at their churches, who will cry on the phone with you, will give you a hug with no words because they are hurting just as much as I was...I could go on and on. I love my 'church people' more than they will ever know.
Emmy has chosen the topic for this months photo shoot...churches. I think back to all the churches we have been members of. And then I think of the all the wonderful people who are the churches I have 'grown-up' in. There is the church not far from home that I attended when I was little and later on was married in. The church that I attended with Mark where I became serious about all this God stuff. The church not far from my first church where I was baptized. And where the church family let me spread my wings and try things with their children. Then we moved away from our roots and moved to Ohio where we searched and searched for a church home. We finally decided to bloom where we were planted. This was our home-away-from-home-church. I was also privileged to be able to work with the children and youth of this church. And again...it is the people that make the church not the four walls and the steeple. Once again God uprooted us and we had to find a new church home far, far, away for all those we hold near and dear. Our new church was not like anything we had ever experienced before. The hugeness of it was so unfamiliar. But the love shown was the same. Friendships that are everlasting no matter where we go to sleep at night. And one last move to our church now that is on the other side of the city. All that to say that I wanted to show you all of these buildings of churches but unfortunately, that is not going to be possible. But I want you to feel and understand that it is defiantly not the church building that makes the church. It is the people within...that love you no matter what, that will drop whatever they are doing if they know you need anything, those that share even when they don't have much left for themselves, those who will cook for you when they know you need it most, those who will give the shirts off their backs, that will drive hours to surprise you, love your children as much as you do, make you feel like family, call you just to check in, will send pictures of their kids and grand kids because they know you care, contribute to a whim, call to invite you to important gathering at their churches, who will cry on the phone with you, will give you a hug with no words because they are hurting just as much as I was...I could go on and on. I love my 'church people' more than they will ever know.
1 comment
very well said. you are right. no matter what the exterior structure is like, the interior is consistent. Full of love. An obvious comparison to God. He shows himself in so many ways-thru death and marriage and storms and birth...all different yet he is the constant unchanging presense.
Post a Comment