I've decided to spend some time thinking about all the people in my life that touched me deeply. I'd like to meditate a bit on how very blessed I am to love and be loved by so many people. I won't try to name them all by any means but along the way some very special people changed me in some way for the better. I think I'll try to start chronologically but I might not hold to that....I just don't know.
Difference Maker #1
When I was in 7th grade the church where I grew up got a new preacher. Up to that time the preachers had been in the 50+ range but then along came D.C. He was young...only 27 when he was hired. He had more energy than three 20-year-olds and went full steam about 22 hours a day. He immediately took an interest in working with the youth group. There was a deacon who had been the unpaid youth minister and between the two of them they grew that youth group to about 85-100 kids...not too bad for a 250 member congregation!! D.C. wasn't easy on us by any means...we had intense Bible studies and memory work. We were encouraged to be able to share the good news with people we met. We went door to door in a low income area to sign up kids to come to a Saturday morning Bible class. We'd go around and pick the kids up in a bus and bring them to the church to have Bible classes, play time, crafts and a hot meal. The teens did all the work except for the meal. Then we'd get up the next morning to do it all again on Sunday. We went on Campaigns for Christ....but we played a whole bunch too. Youth group is where I learned to play Capture the Flag...all about Snipe Hunting...I fell in love multiple times with the high school guys. It's where I learned to love to sing. D.C. taught me to love and appreciate the Word of God. He taught me to hide it in my heart. Still all these years later I can quote book, chapter and verse (and often times in the good old KJV) for so many important truths. He was the first person I got to know well who literally gave his life for the body of Christ. When I was in late high school I was hired as the Church Secretary and so got to spend lots of hours with him. It was good for me to have an adult in my life that I could look to for guidance. I could ask him the questions and tell him the things I couldn't tell my folks. And to be honest, being close to your preacher keeps you from stepping too terribly far out of formation...you don't want to have to explain that to him. He baptized me, he performed my wedding ceremony the first go-round and he stood and honored my precious Daddy on the day we said our final goodbyes to him. And so, D.C. has a real place of honor in my hall of fame. We still stay in touch and in fact he & his wife, K. have moved to Texas of all places and they live quite near the metroplex now. Hopefully I'll get to visit with them more often. K. was the first preacher's wife I really knew and when it came about that I found myself in that role too I was extremely intimidated. No way could I be the preacher's wife K. was...except in one way...she's a fellow red head. :-) My faith has grown in a different direction in some ways than it was way back when and probably in some ways that he would be concerned about but the foundation he helped to lay is still present in my life and I am profoundly grateful.
Thank you, D.
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