As I'm getting ready to head to church tonight, I'm thankful. I've been going to church for as long as I can remember. Church and a "church family" has been an integrat part of my life since I was a young child. I'm thankful that I live in a country where I am able to worship freely and out in the open. I can go to church and I don't have to worry about it costing me my life or resulting in personal harm.
I'm thankful for that church I grew up in. I am thankful for the sunday school teachers who invested in teaching me weekly, for the Pioneer club leaders who gave up their wednesday nights, for the older women who mentored me as a teenager and for the missionaries who allowed me to come visit them in high school. This church family that I grew up with is the one that celebrated my marriage by throwing me a bridal shower and for attending my out-of-state wedding.
For the last 10 years, Jon & I have been attending the same church. I'm also thankful for this church. When I say I'm thankful for church, I don't just mean the building. I mean the activities that take place both in the church and outside of the church. When I say church, I think of those usual things like the weekly sermons, children's programs, classes, etc. But I also think of the community aspect. The church sponsored serving opportunities that we've participated in that changed our perspectives.
Over the past decade, our church has provided us with several small groups and through participating in those gropus, we've developed friendships that still remain and are still growing. These are friends that have helped us through tough times, celebrated our children's births and dedications, and challenged us to grow.
Our children love going to church and this makes me glad. I am thankful for what they are learning there. I'm thankful that they have teachers who are investing time, energy and love into them. I am also thankful that because of these great children's programs, we are able to go to weekly services and participate without the interruptions of our children. I'm thankful for that weekly hour where I am able to worship and learn.
Church, to me, is both a building and a community. I am thankful for both the physical space where we attend church and the community of believers who are in our lives.
I wholeheartedly agree! I have such wonderful memories of the church family I grew up in and prayed for that my family and God has given it to us--and even though you and I are at different church buildings--I think church family extends beyond the building!
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