Realization

If you'd told my husband or I two years ago that we'd enjoy getting up at 6:30 am on a Sunday so that we could go to church, we'd have called you crazy. Ok, maybe we don't enjoy the getting up early part, but we do look forward to church all week long. So much so, that even though there are 4 different services available at our church on Sundays, we actually get up and go to the earliest one. This is quite a feat for two who are polar opposites to the proverbial "morning person." And on top of that, we stay for a fellowship meeting directly following the service!

Our fellowship group would also fall into the category of things we never thought we'd enjoy. The picture in my mind of a fellowship/bible-study used to depict a group of scowling people in drab clothing sitting in a circle staring at one another as if peering into their souls. It showed the older people lecturing and scolding the younger people, pointing out their many sins and evil ways. Then of course, there was the one wild and unfaithful woman who refused to be oppressed. She'd come to listen but instead would be the recipient of scornful glares and veiled attacks, while the rest of the group just hoped she'd leave.

The difference between that image and reality is just astounding! Instead of self-righteous holy-rollers virulently denouncing sinners and creating new rules we should follow in order to avoid them, I find a group of compassionate people of all ages who want to see one another thrive in their spiritual development. People who empathize and commiserate with one another == adn their faults -- and use that understanding to help one another along their journey in learning and obeying His Word.

Also in the category of things we never thought would happen is sadness over the missing of a service. Our car decided to quit on us at the end of last week. Even though we'd arranged a ride to church, something happened so that our "chauffeur" was unable to make it. This was the first service we've missed in probably 6 months or more. It felt awful! We look so forward to each week's sermon and the following fellowship, it just felt like something had been torn away from us. And not only that, this was the week we were to begin our in-depth study of finding your spiritual giftedness and learning to use it for His honor and glory. That's right, we were actually upset because we missed our first assignment! What a huge change!

It just amazes us... amazes me... how much He has worked in our lives in such a short period of time. I've not yet finished reading the Bible for the first time yet; we've only been attending church for approximately a year; we still have sooooooooo much to learn and so far to grow. So it just astounds me how He can transform even the newly-faithful so abundantly and in such a short time.