Following the advice of some friends to keep up the blogging after my cancellation of my myspace, I decided to open up a Blogger account. So, enjoy!
After tonight's service, I couldn't help but want to post this. First of all, before every Thanksgiving, our church has its wednesday night service be a candle-light service. We take part in communion, and the rest has been something different every year. Tonight, every family of our small church went to the front, lit a candle, and told what they were thankful for. I must say that my favorite part of any church service is the testimonies. Songs are great, and my preacher is wonderful to learn from, but I learn so much even from the wonderful, Godly saints of our church with no special title. Their life they live, their witness, and their testimony touch me in a way that nothing else does. Anyway, there were so many good things said. What I am thankful for, among many, many other innumerable things, is my church. We've been to several churches in my lifetime. The first move was looking for a church that had kids our age so that we could have some Christian friends. We then moved to where we are escaping some church disputes. And though this church, Bonds Chapel, is a small church with only a few youth our age, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. It is so precious to me. There are wonderful people that I look up to and can't help but see Heaven in their eyes, and I know they can see it too. They are so close to the end of their journey, ready for their reward, and I have such a high respect for them. It's great to have a big church, get to know lots of people your age, but I find such love and light in these peoples' hearts that I know exactly this is why God brought me here. I only hope that I can be at least some of what they are. Their faith is so strong, and so steadfast. They know who holds their future in an uncertain, and ever-changing world around them. I want that, too. I'm not there yet, but seeing them, listening to them, learning from them, I see that it can be done even among all of the temptatioins we think we face that "they never had to."
I have to say, the past year has been very rough. Ever since last November, I've lost two uncles, one aunt, a great aunt, and a grandmother, all of whom were very close to me. While thankfully they were all ready to face judgment, losing them, in such sicknesses and suddenness as I did, was rough. To one uncle, I was "sport," he was a true buckeye fan, and such a great father to both of his kids. He loved life and never took it for granted. There was nothing more important to him than his family. My other uncle never went seeing me, for whatever occasion, without telling me that I was a beautiful girl, and that any man would be lucky to be with me. He would smile and love me just like I was his daughter. He loved the country, his wife, his kids, and had such patriotism in this great country we live in. He lost the battle to cancer, but has such a greater victory now than any of us have yet. My aunt was a beautiful woman, she was so artistic, and yet simple. She loved her family so much, also. My great aunt was one of the sweetest ladies I could've ever known. She loved the Lord and just couldn't get enough of Him. Though usually quiet, to hear her tell one of her stories was especially a treat. My grandmother was also a woman of great character. Unfortunately, she had an anyerism when I was very young and so I didn't really get to know anything about the real "her" for myself, but she did leave us with a memoir of hers which became extremely enlightening. She mentioned in this how Abraham Lincoln once said that "No man is poor who has a Godly mother," and she added, "therefore, I can say that no mother can be poor who has Godly children." She loved her children all so much, and I can only imagine how great a mother she must've been. She even expressed how badly she wanted to be a good grandmother, too, and I've no doubt that while she could, she was the best grandmother that could be had.
My point in this is that through this rough year, going to so many funerals and seeing so many loved ones put in the ground, our church family was there for us when we needed them. Their support, their prayers, and their love was irreplaceable and unforgettable. Our pastor, his wife, some elders and other family members would meet us, even if it meant driving far away, to come to the funeral or the viewing just to let us know they cared. They sent us cards, and brought us food when all of our hands were full planning. I don't know if some of our other churches would've done that for us, but they did. Their love and their time meant so much to me. They really showed what a church family was meant to be. Just as a physical family should be, our church family was their to carry our burdens and bear our pain with us. They prayed for us and made themselves available to whatever we needed, and never failed to pull through for us.
So, I just had to brag on my church. I can't thank God enough for them, all of them. It just goes to show how we are all meant to be brothers and sisters in Christ.
With Thanks,
Tara
