A Month Of Thankfulness - Thankful for Church

Church is more than a social event or gathering. Church is a place where you can give of yourself to something that is larger than yourself. It is a place where you can feel like you're making a difference in someone's life. It offers the opportunity for someone to focus intently on God, His plan for your life and His involvement in the lives of others.

I love church and I love the friendships I've made over the years as I've worked along side others in the church environment. The people I've come to love the most are the ones who are sacrificial and unselfish with their time and talents. They are not only givers, but love to give.

I've learned so much from people over the years in church. I not only learned more about God but I've learned a lot of practical stuff too. Through various relationships I've learned more about carpentry, music, mechanics, writing, and the world. I've visited places in the world that most people would not think of going on vacation to. Places like Romania and the small towns I visited there, working with their local churchs. They are just like us, only poorer. Places like the mountains of Jamaica where I was able to live with a family for a week while we labored on their new church building. These memories of my 'vacations' are more cherished and vivid than the beaches and mountains I've visited. You won't get those kind of opportunities outside of 'church'.

Kathy and I have decided just this week that it's time for us to find another church to get involved in. We are sad in one sense because we know we'll lose touch with some wonderful people we've gotten to know. We also thought that this would be the church we'd be in for the remainder of our lives. But, we just don't feel a part of it anymore. We're expecting more than the church is able to provide. We've hoped for what we felt like the church was capable of and have never seen it try and reach that potential over the years. It's a struggle that we're just tired of. We realize now that there are few in the church who even realize what the original vision was so no one is interested in reaching it.

So, we're moving on. Hopefully we'll be able to find a church that is striving for that vision and will follow it faithfully.

But, even if we don't, we're thankful for all the churchs we've known over the years and all the people who make up those churches.