Church (Blog Carnival)

Welcome to the One Word at a Time Blog Carnival. I’m really happy you’ve stopped by! Please add your link below… and enjoy all the posts! To read my contribution, scroll down past the links…

Update: There are several posts that are titled ‘Church’… please make sure to read them ALL… they are not duplicates!

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One Word at a Time… Church

I had hoped to write a new post about something that has been working on my heart recently… and I just finished reading a book that really got me thinking about how we (the church) treat ‘others’.

Sadly, I arrived home yesterday after a visit with my family in Georgia, and I seem to have brought an awful virus back with me. My head is pounding and I can’t concentrate as much as I’d like to… or need to… to tackle this topic.

I’m going to post something (with a few adjustments) I wrote back in July (one of my very first posts ever) that talks about church. Since that time, it has become even more clear that church is not about a ‘building’… each of us has been tasked with spreading the ‘word’ and letting God’s love shine through us… hopefully touching the lives of others in a way that makes them want to know more about that love… and how to receive it themselves!

“Church isn’t where you meet. Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do. Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s not go to Church, let’s be the Church.”
~ Bridget Willard (gidgey)

Up until quite recently, my family was part of the same church family for ten years. We were very involved in several areas of ministry, and we knew EVERYONE.

Since I love kids/teens, I became attached to many of the ‘youth’ and got the privilege of watching them grow up. Some who were just ‘tweens’ became wonderful young adults (of course I never tried to meddle or match-make) while others who were only ‘youngsters’ came into their teenage years where they began to face many difficult challenges that sometimes became overwhelming… or dealt with temptations that were simply too ‘tempting’.

I believe God placed me in these young lives for a purpose… I’ve lived through more than one abusive relationship… made a few (or more) bad choices… and due to the ‘guilt’ I felt over some of those decisions, I got married 4 days after turning 18. Needless to say it didn’t work out, and we both suffered through seven years that were painful in MANY ways.

My past has helped mold me into the woman I am today, and it brought me to Washington… the place where (unbeknownst by me at the time) an incredible future was waiting. Not only did I meet the man who would become my husband and the father of my children… I also found Christ.

Over the years many of these ‘youth’ have come to me to unload or seek advice. This is something I always wanted and prayed for… I feel like I’m able to be open-minded and not judge (hello we are all human).

Situations started getting more complicated and I became concerned I wasn’t equipped… one of them had given in to a sexual relationship, another thought she could be pregnant, and a young man who is like my own son joined the Marines and was being sent to Iraq. There are many more stories, but I think you get the picture.

What I discovered (though I still struggle with not carrying it all myself) is that all I really needed to do was listen, pray, and let God do the rest. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle with… “Letting Go”… though I’m much better than I used to be!

What I’ve come to realize over the past few months is how much I miss these kids who were like my own… we still connect occasionally online, but it just isn’t the same. It’s difficult to be involved when you don’t see people on a regular basis… no matter how hard you try. I don’t know if I made an impact or not, though I am sure of how deeply they’ve touched MY life.

Leaving this church was extremely difficult for me, yet now I’m aware that I was placing too much of my energy into that one ‘building’… and not allowing myself to see the ‘BIG picture’. I was limiting what God has called us to do to one specific group of people… He uses each of us in ways that are completely impossible for us to grasp, so that we can reach others… this is what I hope has taken place, and will continue to take place throughout my life.

Ephesians 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers

New doors are beginning to open and I’ve been fortunate enough to develop relationships with some of my kids’ friends from school (they’ve titled me Mrs. Coolio…an honor for sure)… I really look forward to these ‘connections’.

I also see a whole new opportunity opening up with my writing/blogging. Thus the saying that’s been placed on my heart… I hope to make a difference… one word at a time!

Tagged as: Blog Carnival, Church, facebook, Help, Make a Difference, One Word at a Time, Peter Pollock, Pray, Teen, Tween