MOC 11 Tell Me A Story
kimingvtx, Jan 12, 2021
- Description:
- All paper and elements from Bella Gypsy My Person
Journaling is 679 words
In 2009 we experienced a church split over theology. It was horrible and there were many hurt feelings. I’m sure that this isn’t the way church is supposed to be. I had been a member of that church for over 25 years. My children were baptized and confirmed in that church. We were one of the families that left the church. We tried a couple other churches and found another Lutheran church a few miles away. We also knew that some of the other people that left the church wanted to start a new church and we were willing to help. My daughter (who was a Freshman in college) called that interim church our Foster Church. They nourished us when we really needed it. We got together with other families and we did start another Lutheran church with the help of the Bishop. We rented space in a Montessori school to hold services. Later, that school was going out of business and we were able to buy the school. Our church, therefore, doesn’t look like a regular church. It has grown and it is wonderful. God blessed me with another wonderful church.
A year or so later, Lisa and Paul moved to Texas and rented a house near our new church. They didn’t know it was a church because they couldn’t see the sign from the street. However, we put temporary signs near the busy street on Sunday morning and Lisa saw that a Lutheran church was meeting close to her house and she and Paul had been driving 30 miles to go to church. They started coming to my church the next week.
I met Paul first. Lisa and my husband were in the choir room after church for a quick rehearsal so I introduced myself to Paul. He didn’t say much and I figured that he was either very quiet or he didn’t like me. Later I introduced myself to Lisa. In talking to her, I found out that she was a C-level employee in the insurance business. She never had children and she was busy climbing the corporate ladder. I didn’t have anything in common with her!
A few weeks later I was walking down the aisle and I “heard” God say to me, “You and Lisa will be friends”. What? We don’t have anything in common! Then God continued to work on this friendship. We joined a dinner circle at church and we were put in the same group as Lisa and Paul. That meant that we would be sharing four dinners with them over the next few months. I got to know her a little better and found that she was a warm and likeable person but I was still a bit intimidated by her. The women in my group draw names for Secret Sisters and I got her name! OK God -- I’ll buy her a few gifts and keep her in my prayers. A couple months later, the women were planning a Ladies’ cruise and I didn’t sign up. I love cruising but I don’t always like group activities. One morning at work, Lisa called me to ask if I would sign up and be her roommate! WHAT! Ok God...I get it! So on that cruise I really got to know her and I now consider her my best friend. She is my daughter’s Aunt Lisa. When my daughter got married, Lisa was my day of event coordinator and I don’t think I could have done it without her!
Since then Lisa, Paul, Mark and I have gone on several cruises. On our last cruise, people kept asking if we were sisters. We got tired of saying no so we just started saying yes! We are sisters in Christ! Last year when our cruise was canceled due to Covid we decided to rent a cabin and stay a week there. They are in our Covid bubble. She is a gift from God to me.
I never knew that leaving a church and starting another would also lead to such a wonderful friend.
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- Category:
- Month of Challenges 9
- Uploaded By:
- kimingvtx
- Date:
- Jan 12, 2021
- View Count:
- 159
- Comment Count:
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