The Greene Beat

The church I grew up in has closed its doors. When I heard about it a few weeks ago, I was crushed and experienced a gamut of emotions in a short period of time – anger, sadness, regret.

It has been put on the market for sale, but the thought of the church being sold and used as something other than a place of worship shook me to the core. I found myself sinking into a depressive state. All I could see at first was sadness, bitterness and anger.

Then, God spoke to me.

He reminded me of the many, many great memories I had during the 19 years I spent there.

That’s where I gave my life to Jesus. I was baptized there. It’s where I married the love of my life. At age 20, even though my family and I were no longer attending that church, that’s where I said “I do”. I could not imagine getting married anywhere else; it had always been my dream to get married in that beautiful brick church with the stunning stained glass windows.

I attended Vacation Bible School and even taught VBS. In fact, I was volunteering at VBS the night my husband and I went on our first date, meeting up after his football practice had ended and VBS had dismissed.

I served others in many ways through youth group and children’s church. Assisting with nursery duty was always enjoyable for me as I loved sharing stories of His love for us with little ones.

Graduating from the basement to the balcony for Sunday School was like a right of passage. When you moved to the balcony, you were no longer a little kid. On that balcony in Sunday School is where I excitedly recited the books of the Bible I had worked so hard to memorize. As I grew, I moved to my Papaw Larry’s Sunday School class. On summer days, we would grab donuts and head to Shakamak State Park for class. It was always nice to worship in the beauty God created.

After much thought and even more prayer, God made it clear that my connection to the church was sentimental. More over, much of my walk as a Christian began and took place there. After leaving, and I am ashamed to admit it, my faith suffered. I allowed the absence of the familiar get between the Lord and I.

My grandparents made sure I was raised in church, which is something I will eternally be grateful for. I; however, have been failing my children and failing myself. Too often we allow our busy lives to get in the way of our walk with the Lord. There simply is no excuse for that.

I am thankful for this reality check as my relationship with the Lord has strengthened over the past few weeks. I’m thankful for the walk down memory lane, but even more thankful for the opportunity to serve Him. God’s love is eternal, and I plan to spend eternity in Heaven with him.  Thank you, Lord for your unconditional love.

“Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:2