Local Church Discussions - View Single Post - My Journey to the Local Church, and beyond...

NeitherFirstnorLast · 02-11-2017, 07:38 AM

Hello all,

I have been meaning to write for over a year now, but everytime I thought to I had a sense of dread soon follow... and I never overcame it, not until now.

It has been over two years since I have written, or even visited this site. So much has happened in that time. I want to share some of that, I have to, I just don't know where to start.... well, maybe I do.

It was the summer of 2015. My wife, who has always kept in contact with a number of the sisters from the Church, heard early one morning that there had been a horrible incident back home. A dear sister, who had been like a mother to my wife, and like a grandmother to our children, had an aneurysm. Her family rushed her to the hospital, she was overwhelmed with pain - screaming, she passed out. The likelihood of her survival was in doubt. There were calls for prayer, and when I heard the news, I was overwhelmed with grief and I prayed like I hadn't prayed in years. Not in power, not in eloquence, but in tears and through sobs I prayed for her. I loved her - do love her - but not in my own self. It is Christ's love for her that poured out of me.

Christ worked a miracle. Saints from around the world prayed for her; and although the doctor's prognosis was grim (it was at first highly unlikely she would live, and when miraculously she survived, the doctor said she would never be the same), but Christ proved him wrong. She not only survived, she presses on in the Lord - her first day of consciousness she sang a hymn to Him from her bed. She shares in the meetings to this day with the same love (can it be greater?) that she always has. There is no slowness of mind, no change in her personality, no withering of her being. She is entirely whole. A miracle. Her miracle. My miracle was the love of Christ pouring out of me.

I have a friend in Three Hills, I have mentioned him before. He is someone I pursue the Lord with. It was a day or two later, and our families were together for dinner. As we were talking about these miracles, our love for the saints, he seemed to search himself for words, and then:

"everything you’ve ever told me about these people (the Saints)…I don’t understand.* I have to ask… WHY did you ever leave them?** Did you see Christ in them?* Wasn’t their living a real testimony to Christ’s work in them?* I’ve never even SEEN that in a Christian….”*

That stopped me. I had a reply and it died on my lips, because what that brother saw, through all of the stories I had told over the years, was something so simple that I don't know how I didn't see it. The answer to his question, which I came to after some fumbling, was an honest one:

"Yes... I saw Christ in them. And I... I don't know anymore."

I can write to you about our trials in Three Hills. I could write about the lack of fellowship we had through a lot of those trials. I could write about the storm at the church we attended, dear members leaving and personal tragedies. But that's not why I am writing.

We suffered, and as we suffered we prayed. There were events and there were miracles...a phone call, a job offer, a chance to move home when the economy had turned and my employer had lost his mind. It was no easy move, we had a house to sell when the housing market was upside down... but the Saints opened their homes. I moved back, as welcome as I ever had been. Loved as I always was. I left my family behind, for a number of months; and the saints cared for me.

We are all back now; even my prodigals. Our house in Three Hills never sold; but the Lord provided renters who care for it well. For a year we have been back, enjoying the Lord together with the saints.

....Wherever you are, dear reader, just keep it simple. Seek fellowship with those who genuinely love the Lord. Those in whom you see Him.

In the love of Christ Jesus,

Neither first, nor last.

02-11-2017, 07:38 AM	#77
NeitherFirstnorLast Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 348	I Was Wrong. Hello all, I have been meaning to write for over a year now, but everytime I thought to I had a sense of dread soon follow... and I never overcame it, not until now. It has been over two years since I have written, or even visited this site. So much has happened in that time. I want to share some of that, I have to, I just don't know where to start.... well, maybe I do. It was the summer of 2015. My wife, who has always kept in contact with a number of the sisters from the Church, heard early one morning that there had been a horrible incident back home. A dear sister, who had been like a mother to my wife, and like a grandmother to our children, had an aneurysm. Her family rushed her to the hospital, she was overwhelmed with pain - screaming, she passed out. The likelihood of her survival was in doubt. There were calls for prayer, and when I heard the news, I was overwhelmed with grief and I prayed like I hadn't prayed in years. Not in power, not in eloquence, but in tears and through sobs I prayed for her. I loved her - do love her - but not in my own self. It is Christ's love for her that poured out of me. Christ worked a miracle. Saints from around the world prayed for her; and although the doctor's prognosis was grim (it was at first highly unlikely she would live, and when miraculously she survived, the doctor said she would never be the same), but Christ proved him wrong. She not only survived, she presses on in the Lord - her first day of consciousness she sang a hymn to Him from her bed. She shares in the meetings to this day with the same love (can it be greater?) that she always has. There is no slowness of mind, no change in her personality, no withering of her being. She is entirely whole. A miracle. Her miracle. My miracle was the love of Christ pouring out of me. I have a friend in Three Hills, I have mentioned him before. He is someone I pursue the Lord with. It was a day or two later, and our families were together for dinner. As we were talking about these miracles, our love for the saints, he seemed to search himself for words, and then: "everything you’ve ever told me about these people (the Saints)…I don’t understand.* I have to ask… WHY did you ever leave them?** Did you see Christ in them?* Wasn’t their living a real testimony to Christ’s work in them?* I’ve never even SEEN that in a Christian….”* That stopped me. I had a reply and it died on my lips, because what that brother saw, through all of the stories I had told over the years, was something so simple that I don't know how I didn't see it. The answer to his question, which I came to after some fumbling, was an honest one: "Yes... I saw Christ in them. And I... I don't know anymore." I can write to you about our trials in Three Hills. I could write about the lack of fellowship we had through a lot of those trials. I could write about the storm at the church we attended, dear members leaving and personal tragedies. But that's not why I am writing. We suffered, and as we suffered we prayed. There were events and there were miracles...a phone call, a job offer, a chance to move home when the economy had turned and my employer had lost his mind. It was no easy move, we had a house to sell when the housing market was upside down... but the Saints opened their homes. I moved back, as welcome as I ever had been. Loved as I always was. I left my family behind, for a number of months; and the saints cared for me. We are all back now; even my prodigals. Our house in Three Hills never sold; but the Lord provided renters who care for it well. For a year we have been back, enjoying the Lord together with the saints. ....Wherever you are, dear reader, just keep it simple. Seek fellowship with those who genuinely love the Lord. Those in whom you see Him. In the love of Christ Jesus, Neither first, nor last.