Milestones...

   I had an opportunity to return to my hometown for a Fourth of July parade. That may not seem so exciting, but I saw many of my childhood friends and 'heroes'. One that I saw in the parade is the reason why I serve the Lord today.

   Growing up, my parents never attended church - but they made sure that me and my little sister went to church. When I was 10 and my sister was 7, we started attending another church. We had come from a Sunday School class of 4 to a children's program of 40-50 kids! It was so much fun! But the person that had the greatest impact was a man named Don. He was (and still is) a very humble and Christ-like man.

   My sister and I grew up in the 1970's - many churches had purchased old school buses and used them to pick up kids for church. (Many use vans now...). Every Saturday morning, Don would stop by and ask us if we were going to church. Whether we said 'yes' or 'no', he still gave us a piece of bubble gum. I am not sure how long he did that, but I know that he did it for many years. When I saw him in the parade, I wasn't sure that it was him. We have not seen each other for many years; he had dark hair when I last saw him. He has white hair now.

   Since that day, I have had many milestones in my life: I am preparing for the 'big 5-0' in November. While it is just another birthday, it has given me time to pause and reflect on those lives that I have had the privilege of impacting over the years. I am proud to say that my children are my greatest legacy. I am proud, yet humbled, in the way that their lives have been impacted by the Christ-like influences in their lives.

   "Train up our children in the way they should go; and, when they are old, they will not depart from it..." (Proverbs 22:6)

Ch...Ch..Ch...Changes

   Changes are inevitable - they can be a positive experience or a negative experience. It is how we handle the change that proves our worth. A few years back (during one of my ministry transitions), I had the opportunity to work at a foundry that created aluminum face plates for gas meters. It was HOT work, because I was responsible for taking the 'mistakes' and letting them melt back down into bricks so they could be reused.

   That experience reminds me of our life journeys: each of us has a different function in life. Sometimes we get broken by the situations that overwhelm us. In those cases, we have to allow God to put us through the 'refiner's fire'. In the literal meaning, metals melt at certain temperatures. At the foundry, I worked with aluminum; I had to make sure the furnace got up to temperature and stayed at the right temperature to melt the aluminum.

   In the spiritual sense, we are sometimes put through a spiritual fire. But, this type helps to purify our hearts: let me explain. I believe that the Lord prepares us for different functions based on our depth of faith and strength of resolve. The Bible says that "...the Lord will not put any more on us than we can handle..."

 I have grown up in the church; I have enough wisdom to know that 'the Church' is more than the building. It is about the variety of personalities that walk through the doors that come together and reach out to others in their own way. Well, PERSONALITIES CLASH...there have been times when I have seen personalities clash and people cannot agree on anything. It would be easy to just leave the church: however, before making a rash decision, each should go through their own journey and know if it is permissible to leave or to stay and work it out.

  I know that this post may seem confusing; but each of us is instructed to 'seek out our own salvation with fear and trembling'; whatever you might be dealing with right now, just know that I am praying that the Lord is able to help give you an answer to your dilemma. Peace!