It has been just over a week since I left my job as a youth director. I loved my students and cherish the friendships I have made. I'll miss that beautiful old building, and her kind congregation. I spent some wonderful time on my knees in the prayer chapel there. But much to my surprise I realized it was time to move on, and I am going back to school. I have learned a whole lot in the last year, and though I do not have a very defined direction, I am so thankful for how God has changed me in the last year. Missions continues to be on my heart, but I realize need more training. And I'm praying about that mission trip to Sierra Leone in December that I have been invited to join. I am walking down a new path and God has been so faithful in the last week!
I have reconnected with an old friend, spent time with a few young friends, worked on some sewing projects, did some major cleaning, and am preparing to begin the cleaning/purging/organizing of the basement. I have spent some quality time with both of my sisters and one of my new nephew's. I plan to go on a road trip and meet my newest nephew, who is in Ohio, in a week! I have a possibility of getting paid to teach kids Sunday school at a church where my friend's dad is the pastor. Opportunity is coming my way. Life is so good right now!
Church has been such a part of my life. I am a girl who has maybe only missed out on spending a handful of Sunday's in church in my life. Church is just how Grashorn's spend Sunday morning. As a kid, if we were visiting family on Sunday, we would go to church with them. Or if we were on vacation, my dad would get out the phone book and look up the churches and pick one for us to attend. My jobs for the last 14 years have been in the church, requiring me to be present every Sunday. The Sunday's within the last 14 years, where I was out of town visiting friends or family, I would go to church with them. It was also in those 14 years that I learned that my spiritual growth and development was my responsibility, not that of my church.
My Saturdays are usually full and late. I spent most of yesterday with my best friend, and we had a fun day in the sun, at the pool. We finished the day with chocolates from her recent trip to Austria and a good bottle of Moscato. She asked me what I was doing tomorrow, and I said, just realizing it, "You know. I can do whatever I want to do. I can sleep in if I want to!" There have only been a few months in my adult life when this was ever an option. So I decided I would sleep in, and spend my morning reading my Bible and praising God.
And then I tried to go to bed. I was tired around 12:30 when I lay down on my new, super comfortable bed. But it's makes me hot and sometimes it takes me a 15 minuets or so to fall asleep. Well last night, sleep was just not happening. Just after 2:00AM as I was talking to God, really trying to see why I was up and what he wanted me to be praying for, I started to think about all I wanted to do in the next few weeks. I have been quite social now that I have more free time, and someone seems to want to go to lunch or coffee every day. I was kind of praying and and kind of dozing at this point. But all of the sudden, I felt like I needed to write a list, to keep me focused, at all of the tasks I want to finish before school begins. One of those things included getting the rest of the pieces of the Bethel application for my master's in, which meant, getting the last reference form to my old youth pastor. All of the sudden, I remembered that I have never been to a service at the church he is now in and serves there as lead pastor. So I decided that in the morning I would get up and check online for his service times, and worship there. I would be able to enjoy a service and give him the form. Finally, I fell asleep.
I was wide awake at 7:45, (without setting an alarm) and was pretty sure the church's service would not begin before 10:30. So I got up and got ready. I made a healthy fruit smoothie with my Vitamix, and read my Bible and prayed for a while. The service didn't begin til 11, but at 10:25, I was sick of waiting and decided to leave. The last church I was a part of, if you walked in 5 minuets before the service began, you felt like you were late. It took way less time to get to the church than I expected. I was 20 minuets early and I'm typically a just on time kind of person. Here, I learned, people tend to walk in just before the service begins.
I walked in and saw the smiling face of my old youth pastor. He welcomed me by saying "Now there is an old friend," and gave me a hug. We chatted a bit and once he learned I was no longer at my last church, he told me they need a female vocalist in the praise band, and with a smile on his face said they practice on Tuesdays. When I was in high school, he lead our youth praise band and I enjoyed singing in it.
I walked into the sanctuary and could just feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was a warm and welcoming place. I picked a pew and sat down. A few minuets later, a family I have known for years, sat in the pew behind me. They welcomed me and we began to chat and catch up. The service began and I was delighted to learn that they have been studying the armor of God the last few weeks and today, the head of the prayer ministry at the church was giving the sermon. As the pastor introduced her, among other things, he said that this woman schedules people to pray for the church during different events, and has groups of people praying in other rooms as the service is going on. I was really impressed by that. I felt so comfortable there I even filled out the
entire registration card, something I have NEVER done before at a church I am visiting,
and included a prayer request on the back. I even felt compelled to add some money with my registration card when the offering plate passed by. The sermon was on Ephesians 8:16, and she broke down the verse a few words at a time and spoke on what it meant to us. I leaned a lot from her, and wrote a whole page of notes. She teaches a few Bible studies at the church, and I kept thinking that I wanted to learn more from her.
After the service I chatted with some other friendly faces and shook some hands. A couple I was chatting with told me they needed someone to lead a young adult ministry when they found out I had been a youth director. I laughed and said I had done that before, secretly wondering what God was up to, because for the last few months, college ministry has been on my heart. I met some more people and everyone was so kind. I was sure at this point that I would be back. I found my old pastor once again, and gave him the reference form for Bethel, and we talked a little more. He was ready to get me plugged into helping with the youth, joining the praise band or anything else I wanted to be a part of at the church. I guess it helps that I have known him and his family for the last 11 years. And when I told him I was going back to school, he mentioned that if I do decide to worship there, this church gives scholarships to people in the congregation perusing ministry degrees, and that Bethel would match it!
I walked to my car, delighted to find a spiritually alive church that knows and values prayer. I always love reconnecting with the man who had the single greatest impact on my spiritual life, and faith journey. He made me want so much more spiritual food, and when I graduated high school, told me that when preparing a lesson, he would think of me and take it a little deeper. Without him, I know I never would have never gone beyond children's ministry and come to love working with youth. Without his prompting, I may never have realized that I could be a leader. He is a great servant of Christ and his church is alive. God will bless that! I had the feeling that though about half the pews were empty, this church is about to grow a lot. I am so glad God prompted me to go to his church today, and for all the blessing that came, just for showing up! O yes! The lining is silver!
