Sunday has become one of my favorite days with the Salesman; but it hasn’t always been. I share this today in the spirit of “encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Now that I’m on the other side of a hard *thing*, I feel the freedom to share.
More years than I’d like to remember, and most of them in the very recent past, the Salesman took what I’m going to call ” a long extended break” from church. As someone who loves the Lord and grew up in church, this was very challenging for me. For as long as I can remember Sunday meant going to the house of the Lord as a family; but reality is, that didn’t, and wasn’t, happening. Then enter the quarantine and the enemy stole more people from the church; but I’m not going to get sidetracked there today. I’m going to share that I kept going to church by myself – except for quarantine. During that strange time a friend sent us a link for her Sunday School class and Gary would watch the lessons that were deep and wide. Deep in the WORD and wide in application to what was going on in the world. The Salesman told me he’d like to go in person to this class after all the restrictions were lifted and hear the teaching in person. It seemed like a month of Sundays before restrictions lifted and we went together and our four feet were there together and I couldn’t have been any happier.
It was a long season of going alone though. Longer than I’d like to admit; but friends, I didn’t just sit. I did two things:
I prayed
I continued going
Other *things* happened along the way and during the course of quarantine: I visited different churches – which I’ll share about at another time. Was it the Lord working in my heart along the way? I have to believe – yes! The most important work was being done in my heart. The work that needed to be done was done in me. The only person that I could change in the hard season was me. I picked up my mantle of prayer that I’d let slide to the floor. When we all use to attend church together, on Sunday afternoons I’d spend specific time in prayer for my husband and children. During the pandemic season so much was turned upside down and the mantle I’d felt had been passed on to me, I passed off for a while. I wasn’t as disciplined as I’d been and I made excuses that the world was askew and was knocked out of the church by the enemy.
So the Lord used a crazy time in this world to bring us back to going to church together. Going to Sunday School together led to an invitation from this same friend, to come to a church service. We agreed we’d go to church the Sunday we were invited and y’all, we balled the entire time. Two grown adults with only one tissue between us, felt the stirrings of the Spirit deep within our hearts. We took our tear stained faces (mine without makeup now) on to class which meets after the service. We went and then the Salesman suggested we go out to lunch … I was thinking I’d like to go home and wash my face cause the Lord had just washed our hearts together; but we went to a nice restaurant here in town and proceeded to cry together at the lunch table about what we’d heard the Lord speak to us in church.
I cry as I write about it now. It was a long and unwanted season of going to the Lord’s house by myself. I didn’t always handle the hard well. The LORD, He was patient and kind and loving though – in spite of me. He brought us back together and has given gifts outside of our four feet going to worship together. Afterwards he like us to grocery shop at his favorite store – and, they do have the nicest flowers! The picture I’m sharing is from yesterday of my two feet by the flowers while his two feet went over to see if the organic celery was on sale. The LORD, He is still in the miracle business. And this picture is a lesson to me in and of itself that when I don’t see the feet of someone I love in the picture, the LORD sees, He knows. His desire is for unity. He knows when we get tired in the waiting. He is active even when we can’t see it or feel it. He hears. He holds every tear.
The LORD has done a great work in me.
The LORD has brought us together again to HIS house.
The LORD, He is good now and then – through all the challenges – He is always, always good and working *things* together for His, and our, good.
The LORD is giving back the years the locust has eaten. He forever, and ever and ever, is to be praised.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”