Our Church recently celebrated its
25th anniversary and instead of a sermon my father shared the story
of what the church has meant to our family.
In 1994 my parents walked into
Christ Our Shepherd Church. My mother was battling cancer, my brother and I
were in preschool, and they had just moved to the area to be closer to family
and better medical care. They didn’t have time to look around at various
churches so they just picked COSC and decided to go with it.
Over the next few years this church
walked with my dad as he lost his wife, raised two children on his own,
welcomed a new mom to our family, and added three more beautiful kids. My dad
went from bookkeeping so he’d be finished in time to get us from the bus to now
being the pastor.
It’s been an incredible journey
that brought our entire family through dark places to times of rejoicing and I
can honestly say none of us would be the people we are today if it were not for
the love and support of our church. A church my parents walked into one random Sunday
became the backbone that sustained us through the years that were to come.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in
life that we forget who is writing our story.
This story serves as a constant
reminder to me that God is writing our story.
I am reminded time and time again
when I go on home visits and see kids I thought had little or no future happy
and healthy with their families. When I think of the person I was two years ago
before landing in this country and the person I am now.
When I lay awake at night worrying
about children’s cases that seem hopeless to me I have to remember that God is
writing their story too. When Kelsey and I worry about fundraising for Abide
and the perfect future we’ve envisioned in our heads coming to a crashing end.
He is writing our stories.
It has becoming the resounding
promise playing in my head, offering hope when I step into these dark places.
That woman left with eleven
children to care for… He’s writing her story. That child in and out of
orphanages… He’s writing his story. That beautiful little girl laughing in her
grandma’s arms… He’s writing her story. The child whose future has more
questions than answers… He’s writing her story.
And He only writes beautiful
stories. Beautiful stories that bring Him glory.
What joy it is to be in the middle
of His story.
