Remember When…

In Monday’s Bible study, Pastor Brynen challenged us to spend time remembering our spiritual past that brought us to our present. So…I have. I started pondering while I was there….and the thoughts & memories have continued.

I don’t remember a time that my family didn’t go to church. However, my personal journey began in my 3rd grade year. I can picture the conversation I had with my dad when he came back to share “the ABCs to becoming a Christian” with me. [They are the same ABCs I still share when teaching the Bible lesson during VBS.] Now, when I was a child, I was quiet & shy. For those who know me now, that may be hard to imagine, but it was true. [It still can be depending on the setting.] Since I was a “Bashful Girl” (seriously, that was even my CB handle – because our family had one.), my mom told me that she would walk up the aisle with me if I wanted her to. I remember the invitation hymn began, and I grabbed Mom’s hand. We walked up to the pastor. He told us that it was the quickest he ever had someone walk the aisle.

My next memory was being baptized. Our family attended Calvary Baptist Church in Shelbyville, IN. I remember when I came out from getting dry clothes on a little boy named Daniel kept hugging me. He was mentally challenged, but he was my biggest fan. He was worried that the preacher had hurt me when he baptized me.

My next memory takes us to Madison, IN. Our family moved here before 4th grade started. I remember visiting a couple churches. One we visited, no one but the person at the door talked with us. At another, we arrived when the time on the sign said it started, and there wasn’t a single car in the lot. We later learned that they had changed their service times, but they hadn’t changed their sign yet. That “sign” brought us to Calvary Baptist. We visited. We returned and attended Sunday School. I remember my family joined on Easter Sunday. That was the spring of 1980. That was the first church where I was able to join with the rest of my family since I had become a Christian the year prior and been baptized.

My memory of being in the children’s ministry was the children’s choir. The wife of the music minister led it, and she had one of those voices that could easily sing opera. I remember singing a duet or trio in one of the musicals we did. My favorite song was, “It isn’t hot…in the furnace, man. It isn’t hot…..in the furnace, man. It isn’t hot in the furnace, man, this furnace is…Cool! Cool! Cool!” Ahhh, memories. My favorite musical, the one that had me singing my first ever solo, was Down by the Creek Bank. Gosh! I loved that thing. Even now, as I work with our children’s ministry, I think how much I would LOVE to have our kids do that program (I think it’s out of print). Only this time, instead of singing “I Am Adopted” (15:45 in the video) I would do the parts that Ginny did (18:15) as the leader. [The video is NOT our church…that was way before YouTube. LOL]

Then, I finally made it to the youth group. Calvary called its first part-time youth pastor, Tommy Campbell. He lived in Louisville at the seminary. He got married in January to Becky, his college sweetheart.

It was while I was in the youth group that I began to realize that when I accepted Christ it wasn’t “just” as my Savior, but He was also to be my Lord. Tommy & Becky (and the rest of the youth leaders) taught us about having a quiet time. I grew up going to church, but I don’t remember family devotions or reading the Bible at home. It wasn’t until I was a youth that I realized that for my commitment to be a true relationship…it needed to go both ways.

Was I perfect in reading the Bible? Obviously not, but it was during those years that I started to grow in my faith. I remember “youth-led Sundays” where we would do a skit. I remember sharing my testimony. It seemed that was my designated task whenever we had one. Hmm, I guess this post is similar…only I am able to edit & revise before sharing it.

It was during those three years that Tommy & Becky served at our church that I learned that I could actually “act” a little. We did a play called “The Stone Congregation”. The leads were acted by my friend Kirk & myself. However, he wasn’t able to go to youth camp that summer. Tommy was his “understudy” and took his place as we performed the play at the camp. My only memory of that experience was how “weird” it was for him to be playing Kirk’s part. Why? The two leads were on a date and running away from someone. Anyway, I still remember the take-away from the play, “Remember, if you don’t start doing the Lord’s work today, you will find yourself in a church of nothing but stone.” [They ran into a “museum” which was an old church….that had turned to stone….in a world where faith wasn’t a part of life anymore.]

During Tommy’s last summer at our church, he took us on a mission trip to Gary, IN. During the mornings, we taught VBS. During the afternoons, we worked on the church building doing various tasks. It was during this experience that I realized I had abilities to connect and teach kids. I had already had a high school math teacher suggest I become a math teacher. My French teacher encouraged me to consider becoming a French teacher. However, after that experience, I knew I was going to become an elementary teacher.

After high school, I journeyed to east Tennessee and furthered my education at Carson-Newman College. It was here that I not only learned to teach, but I was forced to find who I was away from my family and away from my church. I decided whether or not I would attend church on Sundays and if I would go to a Bible study. Not because it was expected, but….because that’s what I wanted to do to have a real relationship with the One who saved me and loves me.

Besides that, I also became involved in Baptist Student Union and attended BASIC (Brothers & Sisters In Christ) on Wednesdays. Thinking back, I realize it was while serving in a position on BSU council that I began my affection to write. I think I was “secretary,” and I began doing a monthly newsletter of the ministry opportunities and events. Most of my closest friends from college were either the ladies I lived with or the friends I met through BSU.

During my second semester of my senior year, I was awarded the Laura Brummit Award for Outstanding Student Teaching. I was stoked (even though CNC never did get my plaque to me – LOL). I was confident that I would walk into my own classroom when fall rolled around. I put applications in at various schools and towns in east Tennessee. I also put my application in back at home. You see, my plan was to stay in Tennessee. However, God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. My road led me back to Madison, but when fall came….I was still without a classroom. So, I continued praying as I tried to trust Him through the wait.

I had no idea how long that wait would be. From the fall of 1992 to the fall of 1996, I served as a substitute teacher, worked at Wal-Mart, worked at a video store, served as a summer children’s minister at my church, and accepted the job of “part-time BSU director” through the Indiana Baptist Convention to the students on Hanover College’s campus [Note, they all weren’t at the same time…I’m not Super Woman. Hehehe].

When my pastor asked me that first summer to serve in the BSU position, I told him, ” I’ll say yes, but if a teaching job opens…I’m taking it.” I often wondered why that wait lasted four years. One evening at Bible study out at Hanover, I said, “When I get to heaven, I’ll ask Jesus why I needed to wait so long for my teaching job.” One girl looked at me and said, “That’s easy. If you had a teaching job, you never would’ve said yes to leading BSU and BASIC.” She was right. I continued to lead that ministry for several years while I was teaching, but when it grew to the point it needed more than just a few hours each week….I knew it was time to step aside.

It was at that point that my church decided it wanted to have a children’s minister all year. I went in that direction. I love teaching. I especially love teaching kids about Jesus and lessons from the Bible. At this point, the pastor switched children’s church to last the entire worship service. Children went from an hour of Sunday School to an hour of children’s worship. As the children’s minister, I was available to sub for any SS teacher the first hour, and then I would lead children’s church for 60-90 minutes. When summer rolled around and VBS loomed ahead, I remember working on decorations and plans…with tears in my eyes. They were not tears of joy. There was an uneasiness within my spirit letting me know that “staff ministry” wasn’t my calling. As others came to fill that position, I still helped with the children, but…it was a choice to serve rather than my “job.” My joy returned.

That was decades ago. Since then, I’ve experienced mountain tops and walked through some valleys. Through both, God walked with me. It may seem cheesy, but…looking back….that Footprints poem comes to my mind. During some of the hard seasons and even some of the bright seasons, I let Him and my relationship slip from my focus. Yet, He was there. Holding me…walking beside me….loving me.

My current conviction is a reoccuring one. Not to get so busy doing for Him that I neglect my time with Him. Praying. Reading & meditating. Loving. Trusting.

In the end, my journey isn’t perfect. But…it’s the path He ordained for me, and I will trust Him…and walk it. Hopefully, while I walk it, I will bring Him glory as I know He brings me good.

Thanks for reading. What about you? What do you remember about your faith journey