Changes … we all live with them! Some we initiate ourselves, some are unavoidable, some are a pleasant surprise. Some enjoy change more than others. Even when we dislike forced changes, we later can look back and see it was for the good.
Less than two years after we were married, my husband was promoted and our location changed from a small quiet town to a major city. Our first child arrived 5 weeks after our move. New job; new baby; that was major change. Eight months later, we moved again … career change, different city, new friends! My husband was invited to join his brother in the family construction and real estate business. We were uprooted by circumstances, and by our choice, but that didn’t make it any easier. We had to keep our attitude positive, our focus on the goal, and our trust in our God.
With the nature of our new business, we moved several times within the city. Each move required adjustments … new friends, new neighbourhoods, new routines, and because we strongly believed we should be involved in a church in our neighbourhood … we became involved with new church families whenever to moved in a new locations.
When our children were in grade school, we had the opportunity to move out of the city. Both of us were raised on farms, so a move to the country was a dream of ours. It was our desire to raise our children in a rural setting. These changes were part of a dream that we hoped would happen someday, and now was coming true. My husband commuted to the city for work, and our children attended rural schools. Our family rule was, “If the community doesn’t offer it, we don’t get it!” That meant no driving to the city for music or dance lessons, no urban club memberships, and attending entertainment events would be a treat and not routine. More adjustments and changes for our family life!
What we missed was an active local church. It wasn’t long before we met several other families in our community who also expressed their desire to have a community church. Eight families from six denominations met together in homes for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. In a few short months, the families involved committed to paying full salary to a pastor and his family, who helped us establish a new congregation who began worship services on Sunday evenings in a rented facility. As more joined with us, we received approval to hold our Sunday Worship Service in the High School. More than ten years later, our congregation constructed our own church building, debt-free.
What does all this have to do with ‘Life Outside The Box’? After almost 20 years of active involvement in this community church, new staff, new focus, and new programs created major changes. We, along with our contemporaries, were now the “older folk” who were “out of the loop” and there was no place for us. We were “dismissed”, and that hurt deeply! I recently read that one reason the hurt is so deep in situations like this is because we assume it would never happen within the church. We were not prepared for the rejection.
How did we handle this change? Our decision was to go back to basics! Our personal spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ is summed up in a scripture verse; “…to love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength.” That is a process that is personal, and not dependant on the church building. The building is just a big box! However, also included in verse I just quoted, is that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves. Who is my neighbour? We came to realize that our neighbors are not only who live in our community, but also included those who hurt us. That was a challenge that we needed to work on.
Was the change forced on us good or bad? Time heals … and lessons are learned! My belief in God our Creator, in the gift of life everlasting because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the council and guidance of the Holy Spirit, have become even more real in my daily life. My spiritual journey is not dependent on the “church organization”, the multitude of social programs it offers, or the dogma it presents. It is dependent on my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.